Bad Girls With Big Hearts
by KiltedEngineer
Summary: After a series of unexpected circumstances surrounding Valentines Day, Edd finds himself slowly falling head over heels for Marie Kanker. Although Edd initially denies his feelings, a few emotional moments with Marie solidify his attraction to her. As Edd
1. Chapter 1

**Ed, Edd n' Eddy in**

**Bad Girls with Big Hearts**

**_Disclaimer: _**_I do not own any Ed, Edd, and Eddy characters. I am just a huge fan of the show. All __credit__goes to Mr. Danny Antonucci, who I consider a genius. Thank you for creating this wonderful show for all of us 90's and 00's kids to enjoy!_

**Chapter 1**

The beautiful morning sun had just begun to come into view over the rolling hills surrounding the quiet suburban community of Peach Creek, ushering in a brand new morning for the inhabitants. It was Monday morning, the day that marked the start of yet another week of academic learning at Peach Creek Junior High.

Double Dee was awoken by the incessant and penetrating beeping of his digital alarm clock at 6:00 a.m.; the time he arose every morning. He quickly silenced his clock, and sat up in his bed with a smile on his face. After a quick stretch, the intelligent adolescent slowly slipped his feet out from under the warmth of his orange quilt, and into a pair of bedroom slippers, conveniently placed on the floor adjacent to his bed.

Double Dee made his way towards his solitary double hung bedroom window, which opened to the rear of his house. It was truly a beautiful February morning and even though the sun was still quite low in the sky, it had managed to completely bathe Double Dee's backyard with its beautiful golden rays. It was quite obvious that Old Man Winter had paid a visit to the cul-de-sac. The solitary tree located in the corner of Double Dee's yard had gone dormant; gone were the forest green leaves that once rustled in the breezy summer winds, leaving behind a bare, fractal-like skeleton of twigs. The beautiful bird calls characteristic of warm summer mornings had vanished, replaced by a still silence.

Double Dee smiled and turned away from his window after which he began making his way toward his bedroom closet. He opened the doors leading into the closet, and retrieved his favorite educational attire; a red, neatly pressed button down shirt, as well as a pair of blue jeans. After acquiring his garments, Double Dee made his way out of his bedroom and into the bathroom, where he would have his all important daily shower.

After showering, Double Dee proceeded to dress himself in the outfit he had picked out earlier, being sure to add a yellow-green diamond patterned neck tie to his wardrobe for "professionalism". He hesitated before placing his signature black ski hat on his head as he stared at his reflected image in the bathroom mirror. His smiling face had suddenly transformed into one of sadness, and he appeared as if he was about to tear up. A few seconds passed, after which he carefully placed his beloved hat on his head, brushed his teeth, and headed down to his kitchen for breakfast.

As usual, Double Dee discovered a series of small yellow sticky notes hanging on the door to the Kenmore refrigerator, bearing messages from his mother. He carefully removed one of the notes from the refrigerator and read the message.

_Edward,_

_Please vacuum the living room carpet and clean the drapes._

_Love Mom_

Double Dee's parents had demanding careers, and it was rare that he would be able to see them before making his way to school. Nevertheless, after a quick breakfast in the form of a bowl of Chunky Puffs cereal, Double Dee set out to accomplish the tasks that his mother had left for him.

The clock read 7:45 a.m. when Double Dee had completed his final chore, folding the linens in a triangular fashion. He knew that by now, all of his friends would be up and about, using the little time that they had before walking to school to enjoy themselves outside. Double Dee disposed of all of the sticky notes, and returned to his room to retrieve his thick orange winter coat, in addition to his blue single strapped book bag. Once he was sure that he had everything he needed for his academic day, he made his way down his red carpeted stairs to his large wooden front door. With a turn of the golden handle, Double Dee opened the door, and stepped out into the bone chilling winter air.

Peach Creek had received its first snowfall of the season over the course of the weekend. The inch thick coating of snow that blanketed the neighborhood on Friday night had already began to melt, and almost all of what remained of the powdery snow was nothing but ice and slush. Although most of the white stuff that lined the pavements was gone, a significant amount of it still sat on the twigs of the bare trees lining the cul-de-sac sidewalk. Nevertheless, with a quick glance around the cul-de-sac, Double Dee couldn't help but notice that it was completely devoid of life.

"Strange," said Double Dee to himself as he began walking down the decorative gravel path that connected his front door to the sidewalk. He crossed the street and began walking down the sidewalk towards Eddy's house. It seemed rather odd to Double Dee that Ed and Eddy were not outside participating in a sport or some other form of tom foolery.

"THINK FAST SOCK HEAD!" yelled the gritty and obnoxious voice of Eddy which seemed to come out of nowhere.

Double Dee had no time to react, for at the same time as the sound of Eddy's voice filled the air, a snowball had managed to smack him in the back of the head. Double Dee quickly turned around to see his two best friends standing on the sidewalk behind him. Eddy was grinning slyly, while Ed was running around in circles, giggling in a dopey manner as he enjoyed what little snow was left on the ground. Eddy was wearing his typical winter attire; a yellow sweater with a single horizontal purple stripe, blue jeans, and grey snow boots, along with red gloves on his hands. Ed was not dressed any differently than he usually was. He donned his trademark oversized green coat, which he wore over top of his white and red striped t-shirt. In addition, he was wearing a gray Sherpa hat on his head, as well as a pair of old brown Timberland boots on his feet.

"Geez Double Dee, you gotta work on your reflexes." said Eddy as he grinned.

Double Dee sighed as he walked towards his best friends.

"I suppose a simple 'good morning' was out of the question?" asked Double Dee.

"Hey what's winter without a snowball fight?" asked Eddy, "C'mon, let's round up the guys and head to the construction site for some sledding. We got a snow day to enjoy!"

"A snow day?" asked Double Dee, "Please, you can't possibly think that these meager remnants of Friday night's snowfall are sufficient enough to close schools Eddy?"

"Ya think I don't know that?" said Eddy, "C'mon, it's been two freakin' years since we had a snow day. It's time we made our own."

"Eddy, I am surprised at you!" said Double Dee with a rather angry expression on his face, "You can't possibly be considering truancy as a solution to your distaste in academics. And besides, I know from assisting in the administrative office that absences without excuse warrant the school to place a phone call to the parents of the student in question."

Eddy groaned and ground his teeth as he kicked some slush away from his feet. Ed simply stared at Double Dee with a saddened expression on his face, as Eddy had managed to convince him that classes were cancelled.

"Come now gentleman we must be onward if we wish to be on time!" said Double Dee enthusiastically, after glancing at his golden pocket watch. He glanced over towards his oafish best friend, whos face was still adorned with a somber expression.

"Cheer up Ed," said Double Dee with a smile on his face, "I believe you will be delighted to know that today's lunch special happens to be 'Bottomless Gravy Day'"

Ed's saddened expression suddenly disappeared, and was replaced with an ear-to-ear smile.

"School for Ed!" yelled Ed in an obnoxious and dopey sounding voice, after which he began running down the street while giggling as if he was a small child excited to go to the toy store.

"That's the spirit Ed!" yelled Double Dee as he followed his friends lead, but not before turning around to face his, short, stubby best friend. "Come now Eddy, there is no excuse for tardiness!"

Eddy's face was filled with an expression of annoyance as he groaned under his breath and placed his hands in his pants pockets. He reluctantly began his journey towards Peach Creek Junior High, following his much more exuberant best friends.

The fifteen minute walk to school was the ultimate form of torture to Eddy, who had to deal with Double Dee's never ending soliloquies on the importance of academic learning, as well as Ed's playful antics. Nevertheless, the boys had finally arrived at the entrance gates leading the middle school campus they had come to know and love. They passed through the opening of the chain link fence surrounding the school, and made their way across the slush covered asphalt towards the main entrance of the school. The bus parking lot located in the front of the main building was quite abuzz with students, who were utilizing their free time before the morning bell to participate in a snowball fight.

Double Dee was in the middle of yet another monologue about the benefits of schooling as the three best friends made their way up the large concrete stairs that lead to the school's main entrance.

"Just think gentleman, upon entering those large brown doors, we will embark on yet another wonderful fun filled day of learning!" said Double Dee enthusiastically with a smile on his face, "Learning is the essence of life, and who are we to deny ourselves the opportunity to take advantage of our right to a free education."

Double Dee opened the large brown doors, for his friends to pass through before him.

"Yeah, whatever," said Eddy in dull tone as he walked through the threshold into the school, "Let's just get this over with."

All three boys were completely taken aback when they discovered that their school had been given a familiar face lift over the weekend. It was February 10th, four days shy of Valentine's Day and due to the vice principals love for the holiday, the entire school had been decorated in a theme to suit the occasion. On what seemed to be every square inch of bare wall space were red and pink construction paper cutouts of hearts, some with phrases such as "Be Mine", "True Love", and "Hug Me" inscribed on to them with marker. In addition to the heart cutouts, there were red, pink and white streamers, spanning across the hallway, every 20 feet or so. Even more heart shaped cutouts dangled from the streamers, although they were smaller and were of red, orange and yellow hues. Long banners adorned the walls over the lockers, displaying various phrases pertaining to the holiday.

"What's with all the sissy stuff?" asked Eddy as he observed his surroundings.

"My dear, isn't it just wonderful?" asked Double Dee as he smiled, "To think that I had almost forgotten that Valentine's Day is just a few short days away!"

The boys began walking down the hallway towards their lockers as they continued their conversation.

"Let us rejoice gentleman!" said Double Dee, "Come Friday, millions of individuals around the world will be partaking in the exchange of gifts, kind words, and romantic gestures, with the intent of letting that oh so special someone know that they care."

"Forget, all of that wimpy romantic stuff!" yelled Eddy, "Who needs any of that when you're the hippest, coolest, most good lookenist guy around. Watch out boys, cause on Friday, all of the ladies will be mine."

"Right," said Double Dee sarcastically as he began opening his locker, "And where may all of these female friends of yours be at this moment, in the 'can' once again I suppose."

Double Dee chuckled at his joke as he removed his thick orange coat and placed it in his locker.

"Whatever Sock Head," said Eddy, "Just stick with me, and you'll have some chicks of your own in no time. That is, if ya can get them away from me."

Eddy glanced into the mirror that hung in his locker, and gave his reflection a complimentary wink.

Double Dee sighed as he exchanged his books. He couldn't help but notice that Ed had not yet uttered a single word since the boys had reached their lockers.

"Is something troubling you Ed?" asked Double Dee, "You are being awfully quiet."

Ed looked around at his surroundings with a fearful expression on his face, after which he finally spoke up.

"NO MUSHY STUFF FOR ED!" yelled Ed, after which he ran over to the trash can situated at the hallway junction. He removed the lid of the swing top receptacle and jumped inside replacing the lid on the can.

"Wake me up when Valentine's Day is over and the girls are all gone!" said Ed fearfully as he peered out of the swing lid, glancing up and down the hallway to be sure that no females were present.

Ed's actions prompted heavy laughter from Eddy, who was squeezing his stomach as if he was in pain.

"My ribs, they're killing me!" yelled Eddy as he attempted to speak during his fit of laughter.

Double Dee gave Eddy a sarcastic glare, at which point he began making his way towards the trash receptacle.

"Come now Ed," said Double Dee as he began removing the lid to the trash can. He peered down inside to see a very fearful Ed glaring up at him. "You really must try to conquer your fear of the opposite sex. Females are individuals just like you and me, and adolescence is the perfect opportunity to form beautiful platonic friendships."

Double Dee began helping Ed out of the receptacle. It was no surprise that Ed was completely covered with filth and was emitting an odor characteristic of sedentary garbage. Double Dee quickly used a can of disinfectant he kept in his back pack to sanitize his friend, at which point the sound of the bell signaling the start of homeroom filled the air.

After a short walk, the Ed's eventually passed through the glass-paned door leading into homeroom. Upon entering the classroom, they made their way towards their usual seats behind Kevin and Nazz. Kevin and Nazz had entered a relationship a few weeks after their excursion across the tri-county area in search of the Ed's due to their ice cream machine scam disaster. Kevin began to pick up on the signals that Nazz was into him, and finally made the move. In addition, after the incident with Eddy's brother, Kevin and Eddy had become pretty good friends. Kevin now used "dork" as a term of endearment, rather than an insult. They still shared a friendly rivalry, and although Eddy took the news of Kevin dating Nazz with envy, he soon put those feelings aside after he realized that he "was just too cool" to chase after a single girl.

"Yo dorky!" said Kevin as he stood up and turned around to greet his friend.

"Sup shovel chin!" yelled Eddy as he shook Kevin's hand, pulling him into a brotherly hug as he did so, "What's happenin?"

The teacher began taking roll as Eddy and Kevin shared a friendly conversation, busting each other's chops about bets they have made on various sports games. Nazz simply buried her face in the newest edition of Cosmo Girl magazine as her boyfriend joked with his good friend. Double Dee spent his time in homeroom organizing his files for the upcoming school day, as Ed crawled his hand across his desk, pretending as if it was a monster he had seen in a movie the previous night.

The teacher had finally finished taking roll, at which point the door to the classroom opened with an audible creek. The enthusiastic, yet shrill voice of Ms. Glassier, the vice-principal, filled the air as she walked into the classroom, bidding the students a good morning as she did so. She was a woman of relatively average height and wore a red sweater, boasting a few heart shaped patches, not unlike those that decorated the halls of the school. Ms. Glassier gave a short yet amusing speech on the importance of Valentine's Day, after which she reached into her red knap sack. She retrieved a small white envelope, and held it in her hand as she walked around the room, looking each and every student in the eye with a smile. Every year, Ms. Glassier chose a random student from each class to receive a poetic Valentines fortune, and it was time that she decided on this year's recipient.

Eventually she came across Double Dee, who was currently reorganizing the papers contained within his biology folder. Double Dee sensed Ms. Glassiers presence and ceased his activity momentarily to look her in the eye. Ms. Glassier simply smiled, placed the envelope on Double Dee's desk, and uttered a few cryptic words, "Cupid has his eye on you."

Double Dee looked upon the small envelope in a state of confusion as Ms. Glassier made her way to the front of the class. She bid the students a wonderful day and left the classroom, on her way to spread more valentines cheer.

Double Dee examined the envelope he was holding for a few seconds. The envelope was sealed by a sticker in the shape of a heart, its red color standing out against the white background. He glanced away from the envelope momentarily to see each and every student staring at him, wondering what could possibly be contained within. He was quite embarrassed at the fact that he had been put on the spot, and began blushing as well as sweating profusely. Nevertheless, Double Dee took hold of the small envelope, and broke the seal. He lifted the flap and slowly removed the contents.

Inside was small tan-colored card, no bigger than the average index card. On the card was what appeared to be a short poem written in blue ink. Four red hearts positioned in each corner of the card acted as a decorative border around the words. Double Dee sighed, after which he began reading the words to himself:

_This Valentines Day will come with surprise_

_Your true love is the one that you claim to despise_

_Let go of the past, your future is bright_

_For Cupid will strike you on Valentines night!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Double Dee pondered the ambiguous words that graced the small slip of paper he was holding in his hands. For reasons he could not quite explain, he felt an overwhelming feeling of bliss as he read the poem. Although Double Dee typically viewed fortune telling as nothing more than an amusing charade, he couldn't help but wonder if there could perhaps be any truth behind the poem. Double Dee was a shy, and somewhat socially awkward teenager; and because of these personality traits that he saw as flaws, he began to question if he could ever find a girl that would appreciate and love him for who he was.

Double Dee's thoughts were interrupted by Eddy, who decided to snatch the poem directly out of his hands.

"Eddy, what are you doing!" yelled Double Dee, "The thin cross section of that card as well as the sudden force you applied to it could have caused me to sustain injury in the form of extremely painful paper cuts!"

Eddy ignored Double Dee's ranting as he read the poem to himself while sitting behind his desk. He looked upon the words with a confused stare, failing to understand the artistic connotations of poetic verse.

"I don't get it," said Eddy as held the card up in front of him, examining the words.

"It's a poem Eddy," said Double Dee with a lively smile as he retook possession of his poem, "Poetry is the language of the heart, and is the perfect medium for one to express their undying emotions."

"Poems melt my brain Double Dee!" yelled Ed

Just then, the sound of the bell signaling the start of first period echoed throughout the halls of the school. All three boys, as well as the rest of the students in the class began making their way towards the door to begin their journey to class.

"It's already melted Monobrow," said Eddy as he passed through the door and into the marble hallway, "Besides, poems are for sissies."

"Poems are not just for 'sissies' Eddy," said Double Dee as he gently placed the card back into its envelope. He then proceeded to place the envelope in his back pack for safe keeping "I for one appreciate the beauty that a well written poem has to offer,"

The boys continued their conversation as they walked down the hallway. After a few steps, Eddy decided to quench his thirst with a quick drink from the water fountain. As Eddy looked up after finishing his drink, his eyes made contact with a brightly colored poster hanging on the bulletin board above the water fountain. The poster was decorated with red and pink hearts, as was the case with the rest of the school, and boasted a few lines of writing in a large cursive style font:

_Need an idea for a romantic date with that special someone?_

_Come on down to, __**The First Annual, Peach Creek Jr. High Valentine's Day Carnival**__!_

_Ride rides, play games, eat sweets, and be merry!_

_Don't have a sweetheart yet? No sweat!_

_Find your match made in heaven on our exclusive mystery match tunnel of love!_

_Admission is free, provided a valid student ID is presented_

_Doors open Friday night at 7:00 p.m._

"Well boys," said Eddy as he turned around to his friends with a grin on his face, "Look alive, cause I got the perfect way to spend our Friday night!"

Eddy performed a hitch hikers thumb maneuver behind him as if to draw his friends attention to the poster.

"A carnival?" asked Double Dee, "Seems that the student government has finally managed to have it approved this year."

Double Dee pondered the poster over for a few seconds.

"As much as I would love to join you, I am afraid that it is for my best interest that I sit this one out," said Double Dee, "Besides, you know all too well that I do not enjoy those instruments of torture you call amusement rides. May I remind you the little mishap that occurred during the class trip to Great Adventure last April?"

Eddy began laughing hysterically as he recalled the incident that Double Dee was speaking of.

"Aww man, that was priceless!" yelled Eddy as he continued laughing.

"Double Dee spewed out his innards just like the suma people in 'Attack of the Recyclops!' yelled Ed as he held his hands up as to imitate the actions of a monster.

"I fail to see the humor in the involuntary expulsion of gastric contents," said Double Dee .

"Relax Double Dee, we're just jackin' ya!" yelled Eddy "Besides, who cares about the rides."

Eddy placed his arms around his best friend's shoulders.

"Boys," said Eddy, "Watch and learn, cause Friday night, I'm gonna score myself a kiss on the tunnel of love!"

As soon as Eddy had finished speaking, a familiar voice chimed in from behind the boys

"Why wait for Friday, boys?"

The air was filled with the sound of three malicious feminine giggles. The Ed's slowly turned around, frightened as if they were a trio of deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. They were greeted by the sight of three teenage girls; however, the sight was anything but welcome.

Lee Kanker stood in the middle of the hallway, dressed in her typical polka dotted white shirt and blue jeans combination. Her red curls were as unruly as ever and draped over the top of her face, effectively concealing both of her eyes. A sly grin adorned her face, causing the silver crown that acted as her incisor to be exposed.

To her right stood May, wearing a grey t-shirt complimented by a pair of baggy red shorts, in addition to yellow knee high socks worn under her black cleats. May was grinning in the same manner as her older sister, accentuating her severe maxillary malocclusion, as she stood with her hands on her hips with her pelvis relaxed to the right.

Lastly, to Lee's left, stood Marie, dressed her usual attire consisting of a flat black t-shirt and green cargo pants. Her midnight blue hair hung to her jaw-line, styled in such a way that her bangs swept across her face, concealing her right eye. She ran the rusty red colored fingernails of her right hand through her hair as she giggled at the Ed's fear, after which she folded her arms. On her wrist was a jet black wristband, further emphasizing the punk appearance that she was attempting to portray.

"Kankers," whispered Eddy to himself after which he clenched his fists as well as his jaw. Ed and Double Dee were as still as statues, paralyzed with fear.

"What's this?" asked Lee aggressively as she walked over to the poster hanging on the bulletin board. She tore off of the wall and read through it.

"Well girls," said Lee, "Looks like there's gonna be a nice little carnival on Friday night and our men haven't asked us to it yet!"

"How rude!" yelled May, playing into her sister's joke.

"Mom was right!" said Marie, "Give men some leeway and they'll tear your heart in two!"

Eddy could no longer control the anger that was building up inside of him, and reacted accordingly.

"Whoever said that we're takin ya anywhere?" yelled Eddy.

Lee snickered as she walked towards Eddy. She leaned down into his face and tickled the bottom of his jaw with her forefinger.

"I don't think you really have a choice little man!" said Lee in a quiet, yet menacing voice.

May walked over toward Ed, at which point she leaned into his face while staring up into his eyes with a fake smile. Ed simply looked down into his tormentors eyes, albeit with an expression of fear.

"I can't wait for the carnival, Big Ed!" yelled May, "We're going to have so much fun spending the night together."

"Yeah," said Marie as she walked over towards Double Dee. She slammed her hands against the lockers he was leaning on, trapping him in between her arms, as she bent her right knee, lifting her foot towards her back.

"I just know my little pumpkin has something special planned for us this Valentine's Day!" said Marie as she leaned extremely close to the distressed Double Dee's face.

"LET"S KISS EM!" said May in a long drawn out voice.

The blonde and blue haired Kanker sisters began leaning in to touch their lips to their cowering "boyfriends" at which point Lee grabbed her sisters and pulled them away.

"Easy girls!" yelled Lee playfully as she grabbed onto her sisters shoulders, "Save the good stuff for Friday night!"

Lee glanced towards the three Ed's.

"But for now, I think it's time we remind everyone that these men are ours!" said Lee after which she glanced towards Marie and snapped her fingers, "Marie! Get the stuff!"

"Way ahead of ya Lee!" said Marie with a smirk on her face as she pulled a roll of duct tape out of her back pack. She pulled a length of it from the roll, causing a characteristic rip sound, as she brandished the tape for the Ed's to see.

At this point, several students who were making their way to class stopped to see what all of the commotion was about; of course the main reason being to laugh and poke fun at the Ed's misfortune.

Eddy's expression of annoyance suddenly disappeared and was replaced by an expression of fear that his two friends have been displaying for the last few minutes.

"Run boys," said Eddy quietly.

At the conclusion of Eddy's statement, all three Ed boys attempted to run in separate directions, the idea being to escape the girl's vicious onslaught. Needless to say, their attempt had ended in failure, as the girls captured the Ed's and dragged them over to one of the schools support beams. It didn't take long for the girls to finish wrapping tens of feet of duct tape around the pole, firmly securing each of the boys to it by their chests and ankles.

"Now it's time for some artwork!" yelled May as she removed three tubes of lipstick from her pocket, passing two of the tubes to her sisters.

The girls spent the next few minutes giggling as they lifted each of their Ed's shirts. Each girl proceeded to use their lip stick to draw a large heart on the abdomen of their respective man. The writing contained within the heart was different for each boy: for Eddy, the words "Eddy + Lee" were inscribed in the heart: for Double Dee the words "Edd + Marie Forever!" occupied the space inside his heart: for Ed, "Ed loves May!" were the words of choice.

The three girls stepped back from the boys to admire their artwork as they giggled maliciously.

"Lookin good boys!" yelled Marie.

"How cute, they're showing their love for us!" said May.

"Time for the finishing touch!" yelled Lee.

Lee motioned for her sisters to walk over towards the trapped Ed's. Each girl took their place next to their respective boy and grabbed a hold of the belt loops of their blue jeans.

"Ready girls?" said Lee with an evil grin on her face, "One….Two….Three!"

At the count off three, all three girls yanked the boy's pants down to their ankles, leaving them standing out in the open in only their boxer shorts. The girls mocked the Ed's by laughing maniacally, as did many of the students who had stopped to watch the events unfold. Eddy was furious and ground his teeth, while Ed seemed completely indifferent to what was happening, displaying his usual dopey smile. Double Dee on the other hand was extremely embarrassed at the predicament he was faced with and was blushing accordingly.

After a few minutes of laughing, the sisters had finally decided that it was time to leave.

"Sorry we can't stick around boys, but we'll see ya Friday night!" said Lee as she blew a kiss to Eddy.

"Call me sometime Ed!" yelled May

"See ya later cutie!" said Marie as she smiled at Double Dee and picked up her backpack.

The three girls began making their way down the hallway, cachinnating like a trio of malevolent demons while leaving the Ed's to deal with their sticky situation.

"Stupid Kankers!" yelled Eddy as he vigorously tried to free himself from the confines of his duct tape prison, "Why do they always have to show up and ruin everything!"

"Please tell me that I am not standing here with my undergarments voluntarily exposed to the public!" yelled Double Dee as he tried with all of his might to rip his way out of the duct tape.

"My legs feel all breezy guys!" yelled Ed in a dopey voice.

"Ed you idiot!" yelled Eddy, "Why don't ya stop enjoyin yourself and use that strength ya have to rip us outta this, we ain't got all day!"

"You got it Eddy!" yelled Ed as he attempted to wriggle his way out the duct tape. After a few seconds of attempting to free himself, it was apparent that even the mighty Ed could not assist his friends.

"Awww Eddy, it's too tight!" yelled Ed.

"Damn it!" yelled Eddy.

"I can only hope that a good Samaritan will happen to pass us by and take time out of their schedule to assist us. Just think of the…

Double Dee was cut off by Eddy.

"Shhsh, someone's comin" said Eddy.

Sure enough the sound of footsteps could be heard around the corner of the hallway junction, drawing nearer with every step. As the footsteps grew louder, so did the sound of high-pitched male voice, singing softly in a foreign language.

Rolf soon emerged from the cross hallway, carrying an old style typewriter in his hands as he sang a Norwegian ballad using the joik vocal style.

"Hey look it's Rolf!" yelled Ed.

"Hey Rolfy boy!" yelled Eddy.

"Assistance please!" yelled Double Dee.

Rolf's concentration was broken away from his singing as he turned his attention towards the support beam that the Ed's were taped to. He began walking towards his friends.

"Ed boys!" yelled Rolf, "What is the meaning of this tom foolery?"

"We apologize for disrupting your walk to class Rolf," said Double Dee, "But it seems that a violent encounter with the Kanker sisters has left us in this awkward predicament."

Rolf stared at the Ed's confused for a few moments. He glanced at the hearts drawn on the Eds exposed abdomens, as well as the fact that their jeans had been dropped to their ankles.

"Ho ho!" said Rolf with a smile on his face, "The Kanker girls wish to take you as their…. How do you say?...lovers yes!"

Rolf giggled at his own joke, annoying Eddy who was currently on his last nerve.

"Whatever!" yelled Eddy, "Can ya get us outta here!"

Rolf placed his typewriter on the ground and began walking towards the Ed's. He reached into his pocket for his "Urban Rangers" pocket knife.

"Have no fear small fry Ed boy," said Rolf as he unfolded the blade from his knife, "For Rolf has experience removing the ropes from hogtied swine."

Rolf quickly and effortlessly sawed through the duct tape using his pocket knife, at which point all three Ed's were free.

"Rolf does not lie yes!" said Rolf as he put the knife away.

The boys quickly pulled their shirts down and their trousers up.

"Thanks Rolfy boy," said Eddy, "I owe ya one pal!"

"Yes Rolf," said Double Dee, "Your assistance was most appreciated."

"I will be thanking you head-full-of-brains Ed boy," said Rolf, "For your bizarre shenanigans had allowed Rolf to earn the Duct Tape Removal badge!"

The Ed's stared at Rolf relatively confused as he picked up his type writer and began walking down the hallway.

"Rolf would love to stay and spin the yarns, but I must be onward!" yelled Rolf, "Good day to you Ed boys!"

As quickly as he came, Rolf was on his way down the hallway to his destination. He disappeared around the corner, at which point all three Ed's began picking up their book bags to begin their trip to class.

"Well, it seems that fortune really was shining its light on us!" said Double Dee as he adjusted his shirt, "If it weren't for Rolf's sudden appearance, we could have been trapped for who knows how long. And to make matters worse, we could have been late to first period class."

"Way to point out the obvious Sock Head!" yelled Eddy as he dusted his shirt off, "What's with those Kankers anyway!"

"As much as I hate to admit it," said Double Dee, "I have a feeling that we will never be able to rid ourselves of those girls."

"Whatever," said Eddy, "I ain't letting them get to me. C'mon boys let's get to class. I'm really not in the mood for a detention."

Ed and Eddy began walking down the hallway, turning the corner at the junction. Double Dee was sure to brush any remaining residue of the duct tape off of his shirt before placing his blue single-strapped carrying bag on his shoulder. With a quick adjustment of his tie, he began running to catch up to his two best friends.

Double Dees burst of speed was quickly brought to a halt, as he had managed to trip over an object and fall to the floor. Double Dee quickly stood up and glanced downward, attempting to determine what had caused him to trip. Upon looking down towards the floor, he discovered what appeared to be some sort of a notebook. The book was black, and had various stickers of skulls and tear drops on its cover. Double Dee reached down to pick up the notebook for being the kind hearted person he was, he couldn't bear to think that someone could be roaming the halls of the school searching desperately for their lost notebook.

His eyes searched the front cover for a clue of who the book could possibly belong to. Needless to say, he immediately found his answer, although it was quite the unwelcome one. At the bottom of the front cover were two words, a first and last name, written in red ink:

_Marie Kanker_

Double Dee was speechless, as he had never expected to accidentally discover a lost belonging of one of the Kanker sisters, especially the sister that had spent the most time targeting him. He could not just purposely leave the book on the ground out of ignorance, as it was not within his heart to intentionally sabotage anyone, even Marie. Double Dee's heart wrestled with his mind; ultimately his heart won.

"Curse my good natured ways," said Double Dee to himself as he slid the notebook into his backpack, with the intent of delivering it to Marie at a later time. He closed the flap to his bag, and ran down the hallway in an attempt to catch his friends.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It was around 5:45 p.m. when the winter sun had finally disappeared completely over the western horizon. The golden rays of the sun had vanished, and were replaced by the soft, cream colored glow of the full moon. In The cul-de-sac was quite peaceful, as all of the students had fled indoors to escape the frigid February air.

The school day was quite uneventful for Double Dee, who had just entered the bathroom for his evening shower. He had been looking forward to a warm shower since the afternoon, due to his friends forcing him to participate in a game of tackle football. Needless to say, Double Dee ended up being helplessly tackled to the ground several times. Along with his clothes, which had been tarnished by numerous grass stains, his skin was covered with the remnants of muddy soil, a prospect which especially alarmed Double Dee.

. As Double Dee scrubbed the lipstick stains that were drawn on his abdomen during the "Kanker attack", he couldn't help but think about the events that had transpired that morning_. _As much as he and his friends had tried to logically reason with the Kanker sisters in the past, their attempts had been to no avail. Even though he and his friends had made peace with the rest of the cul-de-sac kids, they were still the number one targets for bullying by the Kankers. It seemed as if all hope of ever ridding themselves of the evil girls had disappeared.

After 10 minutes, Double Dee finally closed the diverter valve of his shower, and stepped out of the tub to towel himself. He dressed himself in his pajamas, after which he returned to his room with the intent of working on a biology essay that was due on Friday.

Double Dee took a seat behind his desk and began sifting through his books with a smile on his face, enthusiastic to begin his research. After removing three of his notebooks from his bag, he came across a certain book that did not belong to had almost forgotten that he had retrieved Marie's notebook that she had accidently left on the schools marble floor. He stared intently at the black cover of the spiral bound book that he was holding in his hands; the property of the girl who's shrill voice sent shivers down his spine. On the front cover were various stickers of tear drops and skulls, as well as Marie's signature in red ink. In addition, there was a message in block letters in blue ink situated in the middle of the front cover:

**KEEP OUT! THAT MEANS YOU MAY!**

Double Dee placed the notebook down on his desk, his eyes still on the cover. Although he had no interest in what was contained on the pages within, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sensation of curiosity. His hand began reaching for the edge of the cover, with the intent of taking a peek inside.

"Do I dare?" said Double Dee to himself as he pulled his hand away. Double Dee typically avoided invading the personal space of others, and the note that Marie had written on the front of her book had explicitly stated that no one but she is to view its contents. Although Marie had spent much of her time devising plans to humiliate and /or torture Double Dee, in addition to kissing him without his permission, he knew that he needed to respect her wishes, as she was a fellow human being. Despite the fact that Double Dee held honor and respect in the highest regard, his curiosity managed to get the best of him. He reluctantly reached for the edge of the cover and opened the book to the first page.

Double Dee's eyes widened as the first page came into view. Drawn on the white paper was a highly detailed sketch of what appeared a large heart. The heart was semi-deformed, sagging slightly to the left. The most shocking aspect of the drawing was the fact that a large dagger had pierced the heart vertically through its, center spilling blood as it did so out of the bottom of the heart. Below the photograph was a caption:

_Welcome to my world…_

Although the drawing intended to express depressing emotions, Double Dee couldn't help but smile at the amount of detail that had been placed into the sketch. He did not consider himself an artist, but appreciated the subtle nuances, such as shading, highlighting and attention to detail, that were contained in the sketch he was staring at.

After a few moments of observing the drawing, Double Dee turned the page to find another sketch, one that was even more detailed than the last. Marie herself was the subject of the sketch. She had drawn herself in a fetal position, her knees were bent to her chest and her arms were wrapped around her legs. Her head hung towards the floor, allowing the bangs of her hair to droop due to the force of gravity. Marie was dressed in what appeared to be her usual black tank top and shorts that extended halfway down her thighs. Her feet were completely bare. This sketch had yet another caption written underneath it, in large red letters.

_Worthless…._

Double Dee was amazed that Marie had been able to draw herself with so much realism that at first glance he had mistook the pencil sketch for a black- and-white photograph. Although Double Dee was astounded at the amount of detail that Marie had placed into the drawing, he couldn't help but feel saddened that Marie had drawn herself in such a depressing state. He was even more saddened by the word that Marie had used to describe herself "worthless".

Double Dee contemplated the drawing for a few moments. Was there something that he didn't know about Marie? Did the girl that spent a year and a half chasing him around, beating him up and torturing he and his friends without any qualms, actually have feelings?

Double Dee quickly dismissed his thoughts and turned through a few more pages of the book. After passing a few more depressing drawings, Double Dee stopped when he saw a familiar face. Staring back at him was a highly detailed sketch of him smiling with hearts of varying sizes floating around his face. Marie had added a caption to this photograph, just as she had for the previous two. However, the words that she added were quite positive:

_My Hero….._

Double Dee stared at the cryptic words with confusion, wondering what they could possibly mean. After a few moments, he decided to continue delving further into the book. As Double Dee turned through the next few pages, he discovered even more drawings of him in differing positions. Double Dee had known that he had always been Marie's Ed of choice, but he was quite surprised to find as many sketches as he did of his likeness.

Double Dee had finally reached the last page, which contained the most notable sketch of all. The sketch consisted of Marie standing on the ground, with her arms wrapped around Double Dee's neck. Double Dee in turn, had hands on her hips, embracing her lovingly. The couple was sharing a kiss, under what appeared to be a moonlight sky, and both appeared as if they were lost in the moment. Double Dee stared intently at the sketch for a few seconds before noticing yet another caption that was superimposed over the starry sky:

_Only in my dreams…._

Double Dee was quite bewildered by all of the material that he had just laid eyes on. First and foremost, he was quite astonished that Marie was capable of producing the outstanding sketches that were contained within the notebook. He had never imagined Marie to have any talents or passions of any sort, aside from torturing he and his friends.

Although the details of the drawings surprised Double Dee, he was really surprised by the subject manner. Double Dee generally tried the best he could to see the good in all people, even when they had deliberately wronged him. In the year and a half that Double Dee had known her, he had never stopped to think what could be behind the blue hair and nasty attitude of Marie Kanker. Being the kind hearted person he was, Double Dee couldn't help but feel sorry for Marie. After viewing her depressing drawings, he concluded that they must have been an outlet to express hidden internal emotions. He began to truly question if and what kind of emotions Marie had kept hidden beneath the aggressive exterior she had created for herself.

Double Dee wrestled his thoughts for a few moments before finally closing the book. He calmly and gently placed Marie's sketchbook back into his backpack with the intent to return it to her tomorrow afternoon. Double Dee tried his best to shake the confusing thoughts of Marie out of his head, as he opened his biology textbook with the intent to begin work on his essay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It was 11:30 a.m. when the sound of the school bell signaling lunch period filled the halls of Peach Creek Junior High. Double Dee did not given much thought to Marie's drawings since he had placed her notebook back into his book bag the previous night, and was currently walking through the halls with his two best friends. Ed was currently silent, as he had discovered a new obsession; his mother had forced him to clean his room the previous night, allowing him to discover the whereabouts of a Nintendo DS, a gift which he had received last Christmas that was thought to have been lost. As Ed walked the hall next to his friends, never taking his eyes off of the game screen, Eddy decided to strike up conversation.

"So who should I introduce to the old Eddy magic to on Friday night?" said Eddy rather quietly, he turned towards Double Dee, "How bout that new chick in bio that sits in front of us, she's got a pretty nice rack!

"A nice rack, please." said Double Dee softly as he stared at Eddy with a sarcastic expression, "Eddy, you do realize that your attempts to attract the opposite sex based solely on the size of their mammary glands are completely immoral!"

"I can tell you never stopped to check out chicks!" yelled Eddy after which he laughed rather loudly, "Besides, chicks like compliments, especially on their looks!"

"_Women _adore romance Eddy," said Double Dee, "Kindness, courtesy, respect and decency are the keys to unlocking the doors into the hearts of the female sex."

"Like you know!" yelled Eddy as he pointed into Double Dee's face, "You ain't even had a girlfriend yet!"

Eddy laughed heavily.

"And I suppose _you_ have Eddy?" asked Double Dee as he glared into Eddy's face.

"Hey, I ain't saying I ever had a steady girlfriend, but I've been around," said Eddy as he placed his arm around Double Dee's shoulder, "Just stick close to me, and I'll let ya in on a few pointers."

At this point a group of girls who were traveling the opposite way down the hallway approached the boys. Eddy was sure to shoot the girls a grin as well as wink. The attempt to woo the girls failed, as they all stared back with disgusted expressions, even whispering phrases such as "what a loser," under their breath as they walked past.

Eddy groaned under his breath as he continued his way down the hallway

"Bravo Eddy," said Double Dee, "Your acts of courtship really managed to sweep those young women off of their feet."

"Ah whatever," said Eddy, "They just ain't ready for Eddy McGee!"

The boys had finally reached the hallway junction.

"Alright, let's get in there before all of the pepperoni goes," said Eddy, "Come on boys!"

"On the contrary Eddy," said Double Dee, "I will be unable to join you today for our lunch period. Today happens to be the day of the first meeting of the new and improved, Peach Creek Junior High Safety Club, guaranteed to be much more organized that it was last winter."

"C'mon Double Dee, not that stupid club again!" said Eddy.

"You'll be thanking me for a safer winter experience!" said Double Dee as he began walking towards the classroom where he held his club. Eddy and Ed turned to begin their journey towards the lunchroom.

"Whatever Sock Head," said Eddy, "Catch'ya on the flip side!"

"Farewell gentlemen!" yelled Double Dee, "I will see you this afternoon!"

Double Dee removed a clipboard out of his back pack as he walked. He began going through the checklist, being sure that everything was prepared for his important meeting, smiling as his pen checked off each bullet point.

Double Dee was so immersed in his work that he had forgotten to observe his surroundings. It didn't take long for the absent minded adolescent to reach the door leading into the girls bathroom, where he managed to accidently bump into a student emerging from the door. The impact caused he and the student in question to plummet to the floor; his hands had let go of his clip board in addition to his pen to brace his body for the impact. He quickly regained his senses and rose off of the ground. He turned around to see if the student he had accidentally knocked down needed any assistance.

Double Dee's eyes widened as he laid eyes on the individual that he was least enthusiastic to accidentally run into, Marie Kanker. Marie quickly regained her composure and picked up some of her belongings that had fallen on the floor. She rose to her feet and stared into Double Dee's eyes with an expression of annoyance. Double Dee was quite nervous and sweating heavily, as he knew that being alone with Marie was never a good thing. He decided to attempt to ease the situation with a few kind words.

"He…hello Marie," said Double Dee rather nervously, "I apologize wholeheartedly for causing a collision with my absent mindedness. Are you alright?"

Marie brushed her shirt off and glared at Double Dee.

"I'm fine." said Marie rather softly as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Thank goodness," said Double Dee.

Double Dee stared into Marie's exposed green eye, an eye that had usually terrified him to wits end. For some reason, he was not experiencing as much fear as he usually did, granted he was standing less than 8 feet in front of a young woman who had spent the last year and a half stalking him. Double Dee was also surprised that Marie's facial expression was rather calm and collected, strikingly different from the usual malicious and amorous grin she was known to display.

At that moment, Double Dees thoughts were brought back to the sketches that Marie had drawn in her notebook. He turned toward the blue-haired young woman standing in front of him. There was something about Marie's green eyes that seemed to convey deep concealed emotions, just as she had portrayed in her drawings.

Double Dee quickly dismissed his thoughts and opened his backpack.

"Before I forget, I happen to have something that you might be looking for." said Double Dee as he reached into his backpack.

Double Dee pulled out Maries black notebook and held it out to her. Her eyes widened with excitement.

"My sketchbook!" yelled Marie as she yanked the book from Double Dee's grasp and pulled the book into her chest, crossing her arms as she held onto it, "I've been looking everywhere for this!"

"I took possession of it with the intent to deliver it to you at a later time. I hope you don't mind." said Double Dee.

Marie looked into Double Dees eyes with an expression that he had never seen before. Her face was glowing, and it seemed as if she was trying as hard as she could to hold back a genuine smile.

"I don't mind at all," said Marie in a soft tone of voice, she paused for a second, after which she continued, "So even though I am always mean to you and beat you and your friends up all of the time, you still wanted to give this back to me?"

Double Dee paused for a few seconds as he looked towards the floor nervously.

"Well, it wasn't in my heart to pass over anyone's lost possessions, as I know from personal experience that losing a personal belonging can be quite unnerving." said Double Dee.

Marie stared at Double Dee with a surprised expression before glancing towards the floor out of embarrassment. For the first time, Double Dee witnessed Marie's cheeks turn a fiery red due to some other emotion besides anger.

"That was really nice of you Double Dee," said Marie in a soft gentle voice.

Double Dee was quite surprised at Marie's stunning display of kindness. He almost could not believe that he was speaking to the same girl. The two teenagers stared into each other's eyes for a few moments, after which Marie's brash attitude suddenly returned.

"You better not have looked at it!" yelled Marie rather aggressively as she gave Double Dee an angry facial expression.

"Absolutely not!" yelled Double Dee nervously. He was currently sweating bullets as he hoped that Marie did not discover that he had indeed glanced at her private sketches, "I take pride in respecting the personal space of others."

Marie calmed down, and began staring at her notebook, blushing ever so slightly. After a few minutes of awkwardness, Double Dee checked his watch. He had spent more time that he had planned in the hallway, and would be late for his meeting if he dawdled any longer.

"Please excuse my abrupt exit, Marie," said Double Dee as he adjusted his backpack, "But I really must be going, I have important business to attend to. Farewell and have a nice day!"

Double Dee turned around and began dashing down the hallway, with his fists lifted to his chest and elbows flared out as he always did as he ran. Marie spent a few moments watching Double Dee make his way down the hallway with a rather somber expression on her face, breaking her stare only when Double Dee turned into the cross hall. Marie stood leaning against the wall for a few seconds before finally uttering a few words to herself.

"Goodbye Double Dee," said Marie under her breath as her eyes watered slightly. She turned around and began making her way down the hallway towards the cafeteria.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The sun had finally gone down, and night had once again casted it's shadow over Rathink Avenue. The cul-de-sac was quite tranquil, as all of the children indoors, finishing up dinner or otherwise preparing themselves for the next day at school. Jimmy was in his house perfecting his hair after finishing up in the shower. His best friend and neighbor to the left, Sarah was sitting in her pink colored room, fiddling around with her dolls. Her brother, Ed was in his basement room dividing his time between immersing himself in comic books and watching "Santa Claus Conquers the Martians", a B-Movie that was a complete failure in almost everyone's eyes but Ed's. Eddy was spending time in front of his mirror; he had just finished up brushing his teeth and was admiring his smile while confidently striking poses. Double Dee was quite busy at the moment. He had already taken care of all of his evening chores, and eaten dinner. He now had a large stack of books piled up on his desk next to his computer which he was using to diligently work on the biology essay he had started the previous night. He had chosen to write his essay on metabolism of streptococci bacteria, an extremely interesting topic to him.

In the sea of tranquility that was Peach Creek, there was only one family that was not at peace; the Kankers . Inside their trailer, it appeared as if a nuclear warhead had gone off. Books were pulled off shelves, tables were tipped over and cupboards were flung wide open. The console television in the living room was displaying a blank screen, instead of the intended monster truck demolition derby.

"Where the hell is it May!" yelled Lee as she was throwing books off of the shelf.

"You had it last!" May yelled back as she searched through drawers in the kitchen.

"I'm missing my show girls, don't piss me off!" yelled Lee.

"We're all missing it dim wit!" yelled Marie. "We checked everywhere in this stupid trailer and still can't find the phone book!"

"What are we going to do?" yelled May.

The girls stood around thinking and then Lee all of the sudden smirked as if she had a great idea.

"Don't worry girls, we don't need to get no professionals involved in this little matter." said Lee. "We got someone with enough brains to know how to fix this thing right here in our own backyard."

"Nobody in this place has enough sense to fix this thing you lug head!" yelled Marie.

"What about that brainy little man of yours, Double Dee?" said Lee.

Maries eyes widened, "Double Dee, he's so cute." She said in a dream-like calm voice that made her sound especially feminine. Lee slapped her across the face.

"Get focused Marie!" yelled Lee. "He's your man, go get him and get back here quick so I can watch my show!"

"Fine!" Marie shoved Lee out of the way and walked out of the trailer. She shivered as a cold wind gust hit her face, her blue hair flowing in the wind. She ran quickly through the trailer park and hopped the fence into the lane. She again hopped the fence into Ed's yard and bolted quickly through it, out into the cul-de-sac. Crossing the street, she finally arrived at Double-Dee's front yard. She had known from breaking into his house already that his room was in the back on the second floor, so she ran through the alley around into the back yard. She climbed up the drain pipe adjacent to his window, and peered in to his room. Double Dee's desk was situated so that his back was towards the window. Marie chuckled under her breath and grabbed onto the window. She slowly opened it and began to make her way into the room. She continued to tip-toe across the room until she reached Double-Dees bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs and leaning slightly back, attempting to make herself look as sexy as possible. She finally broke the silence.

"Hello Oven Mitt." she said in a seductive voice. Double Dee jumped up from his desk, startled beyond belief. He turned around and to his dismay, laid eyes on the person he expected to see.

"Uh, hello Marie." said Double Dee in a nervous tone of voice while sweating profusely . "How did you manage to."

Marie cut him off.

"Get up here? I knew you'd be up here so I just climbed up the drain pipe. This isn't the first time I've been in here you know."

"Not the first time?"said Double Dee. He was quite disturbed by Marie's last statement. He managed to get a hold of himself, after which he attempted to reason with Marie to leave.

"While I really enjoy your visit Marie, I must ask you to leave. What would mother and father think if they were home and discovered a girl had secretly infiltrated my room?" said Double Dee.

"Double Dee," said Marie as she stood up and walked over towards him. She pinned him against the wall and moved her face close to his right ear.

"While I really enjoy the fact that we are in your room and that nobody else is home, I'm afraid that we'll have to save that for another time."

Marie pulled away from Double Dee's ear and looked into his face.

"Listen lover boy, I need you to do a little favor for me and my sisters. I need you to come to the trailer and fix our television. I know that you can do it."

Double Dee stared into Marie's eyes in silence for a few seconds. Before he even had a chance to retort, Marie made his decision for him.

"I knew you'd want to let's go!" yelled Marie as she dragged Double Dee out of his room.

"But I need to finish up this essay for biology class tomorrow!" yelled Double Dee

"You'll have enough time to finish it brainiac don't worry. Now grab your tools and let's go!"

The pair made their way out of Double Dee's room, stopping only for him to grab his bag of electronic components and soldering gun. The two exited through the front door of his house and made their way back to the trailer park.

Back in the trailer park, Lee and May were pacing back and forth in front of the broken television.

"Where is she, don't tell me she let her feeling get the best of her!" Lee yelled.

"We have five minutes till it starts, what are we going to do?" said May.

At that moment, the door to the trailer flew open with an audible thud.

"We're back!" yelled Marie. "And my cutie pie said he'd fix the television for us!"

"I knew he would." said Lee grinning and chuckling.

Double Dee stood in front of the two angry sisters sweating profusely. "Hello, May, hello Lee. How are you this evening?" He asked very nervously.

"We'll be much better when that television is in working order. Now get going." yelled Lee.

Double Dee sighed as he made his way to the back of the television. The three girls stood watching nervously, hoping that Double Dee could pull through for them. As soon as he removed the rear panel, Double Dee discovered the problem.

"Ahh here's the problem, it seems that there is a blown capacitor, causing the switch relay to malfunction and the…"

Lee quickly cut Double Dee off and leaned into his face with an angry expression

"I don't care what the problem is as long as you can fix it!" yelled Lee.

"Certainly." said Double Dee as he opened his electronics kit and heated his soldering gun. After a few minutes of fiddling, he closed the back panel and walked around the front of the television. With a turn of the dial, the television came to life, just as the monster truck rally was beginning.

"All right girls, see I told you it was a good idea." said Lee.

The girls moved backwards toward the couch and set themselves down, never taking their eyes off if the TV. Double Dee remained in his place, standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room.

"Well, now that the situation is remedied, I suppose I shall be getting back to my studies." said Double Dee.

The girls kept their focus on the television paying Double Dee absolutely no mind.

"Very well then, I will see you girls tomorrow in school." said Double Dee as he turned around and walked toward the door. He quickly opened the door and walked out of the trailer.

The sound of the door slamming prompted Marie to take notice of Double Dees exit. Marie rose off of the couch and walked over to the door. She looked out the window on the door and watched Double Dee walk a few paces away from the trailer. After a few seconds, she opened the door and walked out into the frigid air. She closed the door behind her, as to not disturb her sisters.

"Double Dee." she called.

Double Dee froze at the sound of her voice. He turned around to see Marie standing just outside the door of the trailer, with her blue hair flowing in the wind.

"Come here real quick." She said while motioning Double Dee to come over with her index finger. Double Dee remained still for a few seconds, after which he reluctantly made his way back to the trailer.

"Listen." said Marie. "Thanks for taking time out of your studies to come over and fix our TV for us, even though I kind of forced you to."

Marie chuckled.

"And I really have to thank you for returning my sketchbook to me," said Marie, "That really meant a lot to me Double Dee."

Double Dee was quite shocked. He had never seen this kind of politeness come out of a Kanker sister before. Until now, he had never thought Marie's lips were capable of annunciating the words thank you.

"Well Marie, you are very welcome, I am always happy to help with a technical problem." said Double Dee as he smiled at Marie. For the first time, Double Dee noticed that Marie was returning a genuine smile of her own, and he couldn't help but notice that she looked quite attractive.

"Well." said Marie, "I guess I'll see you in school tomorrow then" she said.

"Yes" replied Double Dee. "Be sure to enjoy your television program."

"Thanks, I will" said Marie.

A few seconds passed until Marie broke the silence.

"Well goodnight." said Marie as she leaned in towards Double Dees face. He winced back slightly, expecting one of sloppy wet kisses he usually received from Marie. Instead, to his surprise he received a gentle peck on the cheek. Marie backed away and began to open the door behind her.

"See ya Double Dee." said Marie, smiling as she closed the door to her trailer.

"Goodbye Marie." Double Dee said as the door to the trailer shut and latched.

Double Dee remained in front of the trailer for a moment before turning around to begin his journey home. As Double Dee made his way through the poorly lit trailer park, he couldn't help but ponder the behavior that Marie had just displayed for him outside of her trailer, as well as in school that afternoon. Marie had showed kindness, and respect, two adjectives that did not describe the personality that Marie had typically portrayed for herself. After glancing at her sketch book, he had began to question if Marie was really who she seemed to be, and his recent encounters with her had only heightened his curiosity. He couldn't help but think of the genuine smile that Marie had shown him tonight, a smile that he had never seen been and had made her look quite attractive.

A wave of nervousness flew through Double Dee's body after his last thought, at which point he ceased walking for a few seconds. Why was he thinking about Marie so much? What concern was it of his if Marie did have a sweet, sensitive side that he did not know about?

As much as he tried to deny it, Double Dee could only come up with one conclusion for his seemingly abnormal faults. Slowly, but surely, he was falling head over heels for a girl. The girl in question was the girl he had become accustomed to running from. The girl whos voice used to caused him to tremble in fear. The girl who did not hesitate to take part in making life for Double Dee and his friends a living hell.

That girl, was Marie Kanker.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Double Dee's mind wrestled his heart all the way up the stairs and into his room. Upon reaching his room, he walked in, slipped off his bedroom slippers, and climbed into his cozy bed, covering himself with a thick orange comforter. Although the bed allowed him to escape the nippy weather of the winter night, it only exacerbated his thoughts about the green-eyed, blue haired girl. Before he knew it, the comfort the bed provided and the ridiculous, yet soothing thoughts of Marie have allowed him to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

In the midst of all the confusion the previous night had caused, Double Dee had forgotten to set his alarm clock. Lucky for Double Dee, Ed and Eddy have chosen the perfect day to play a prank on him. Ed and Eddy had snuck into Double Dees yard and were standing next to the same drainpipe that Marie had used to get into Edd's room the previous night.

"Perfect." said Eddy, noticing that the window to Edd's room was still open, "The window is open."

"What are we doing here again Eddy?" asked Ed.

"We're giving the sock-head the ultimate wake-up call." said Eddy, brandishing a soccer horn in his hand. "One push of this little lever, and Double Dee will jump up right through the ceiling." Eddy chuckled under his breath.

"But Eddy, that loud noise will wake him up!" yelled Ed.

Eddy stared blankly at Ed, who clearly did not understand Eddy's plan. "Just follow my lead Monobrow." said Eddy. Eddy slowly made his way up the drain pipe and carefully climbed into the window to find Double Dee sleeping cozily in his bed. As Eddy began tip toeing over toward where Double Dee was laying, Ed began to climb into the window, only to become stuck in an awkward position.

"Eddy." Whispered Ed loudly, causing Eddy to turn around. "I'm stuck." said Ed while trying to free himself from the window.

"For cryin out loud," said Eddy as loudly as he could. "Why do you always have to screw everything up?"

Eddy rested the soccer horn on the floor and walked over to the window. He began tugging on Ed trying to free him from the window.

"Eddy, it hurts!" said Ed.

"Hold still lumpy." said Eddy, tugging harder and harder on Ed.

"Hey Eddy." said Ed, straining in pain.

"What," said Eddy as he was straining to free Ed.

"I know how I can get out." said Ed with smile on his face.

While Eddy continued to pull, Ed reached up and pushed the window up, opening it further and thus freeing him from its grasp. Eddy's pulling caused he and Ed to fly backwards, landing on the soccer horn setting it off. Double Dee jumped up in bed startled as if he had seen a ghost. In addition to the sound of the horn, there was a loud crash as Ed and Eddy collided with Double Dee's computer desk, causing his pile of books to fall onto the floor.

"Ed, Eddy, what in heavens name are you doing?" yelled Double Dee.

"It was supposed to be an awesome prank, until Ed blew it by getting stuck in your window." said Eddy.

"My window?" Double Dee looked over at his open window, and he couldn't help but once again think of Maries surprise entrance the night before. He quickly shook the picture of her smiling face out of his head and focused on the calamity that had just occurred in his room.

"Your childish pranks do not amuse me." said Double Dee as he began to slip his legs out from under the covers. He stood up and began making his bed to perfection, flattening out every fold that he could see. "And besides, isn't this a little early for you Eddy?"

"What are you talking about, I'm always up by this time?" said Eddy.

"C'mon Eddy, it can't even be 6:30 yet," Double Dee turned his head toward his digital alarm clock. His eyes widened as he realized that one of his worst nightmares had come true. It was 8:15 a.m. Classes at Peach Creek Junior High started in 15 minutes, and it was about a twenty minute walk from the cul-de-sac to the school. Double Dee was hysterical. He turned around to face Eddy.

"Please tell me that that clock behind me does not say 8:15!" yelled Double Dee.

Eddy and Ed stared at their friend with puzzled expressions. The highly distressed Double Dee ran into his closet and ripped off his pajamas.

"I can't believe I forgot to set my alarm!", yelled Double Dee as he began changing into his school attire, after which he ran out of the closet.

"Come on you two!" yelled Double Dee as he ran out of his room and down the stairs, with Ed and Eddy following suit. Double Dee led the boys out into his backyard and to his shed.

"Thankfully, I am prepared for such a terrible occasion. Drastic times call for drastic measures" said Double Dee. "Gentlemen, I give you the Ed-Mobile!"

Double Dee flung open the doors to the shed to reveal a green triple tandem bike sitting chained to the wall. Double Dee was smiling while Eddy and Ed stood looking confused.

"I found it in the junkyard in a horrific condition during one of our excursions last summer," said Double Dee, "I decided to bring it home and restore it to prime condition, and it is a good thing that I did."

"Cool!" yelled Ed.

"The Ed-mobile?" said Eddy. "Don't tell me that you expect us to ride this thing."

"Well seeing as we are running late, I figured that it was the best means of conveyance for such an emergency." said Double Dee. "And I seem to recall a certain someone who risks earning himself a detention for being consistently tardy."

Eddy perked up.

"Where do I sit?" he said in a very dull and uninterested tone.

It didn't take long for the "Ed-Mobile" to reach Peach Creek Junior High, and to Double Dees chagrin, they have made it there with two minutes to spare. Double Dee quickly hopped off of the bike and chained it to one of the designated posts on the school side walk.

The Ed's rushed into the school, bursting through the front doors and managed to make it into homeroom just as the teacher was taking roll. After a quick homeroom session, the sound of the bell signaling first period filled the air. The Ed's left the homeroom and began their journey to their first class of the day, biology.

"I hope we actually get to cut something open today." said Eddy as the boys made their way down the marble hallway.

"Ooh it will be just like that movie I saw last night!" yelled Ed "I hope we get to do an alien autopsy!"

Double Dee paused at his locker to exchange his books, after which he turned around towards Ed.

"Ed, while I admire your enthusiasm for the fascinating subject of Biology, I must inform you that what you have seen is just a movie."

Double Dee finished exchanging his books and closed his locker. He continued walking while continuing his conversation with Ed.

"And even if it were real, the organ systems and anatomy would be far too complicated for our introductory lessons."

Double Dee held the door to the biology classroom, which was right down the hall from his locker, open for Eddy and Ed to pass through before him. Just as he was about to enter the room and close the door behind him, something caught the corner of his eye. He quickly turned around and peered down the hallway.

To Double Dee's surprise, Marie Kanker was standing around 30 feet from his position, directly in front of his locker. Double Dee let go of the door, and stared down the hallway, enchanted by the same feelings that he had felt the previous night at the Kankers trailer. His emotions clouded his judgment, causing him to swiftly make his way towards Marie's position. By the time he realized what he was doing, it was too late.

"Double Dee!" shouted Marie as she jumped out of surprise while covering her mouth with her hand. Her rusty red colored nails stood out against her peach skin. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh hello Marie." said Double Dee nervously. He was entering an awkward conversation he did not expect to have. He had decided to lie to explain his sudden appearance "I was just coming to my locker to exchange my books."

"Oh okay!" said Marie smiling at Double Dee.

Double Dee felt himself begin to blush, upon seeing Marie's attractive smile once again.

"Well, I guess you're wondering why I'm here," said Marie as she reached down into her pocket. She removed a small folded up piece of paper, and placed it into Double Dee's hand. She blushed and looked towards the floor as she did so.

"I was going to put this in your locker, but I figured since you're here I'll give it to you now." said Marie in a soft, gentle tone of voice.

Marie let go of the piece of paper and pulled her hand away from Double Dee's. The two stood together for a few more seconds until the late bell rang.

"Well, I really should be getting to my Biology class," said Double Dee.

"Right." said Marie, "I have to get to my math class too.

"Okay, then." said Double Dee.

A few more second passed, after which the sound of Lee's booming voice filled the halls.

MARIE!" yelled Lee from around the corner, "C'mon what's takin ya? Those cheerleading Barbies are in the girls room just waitin for us to take their lunch money!"

The sound of her shoes walking on the marble hallways floor grew louder, indicating that she was approaching. Marie sprung into action upon hearing Lee's footsteps.

"Well sorry I have to go, bye!" shouted Marie as she quickly leaned in and pecked Double Dee on the cheek, just as she did the previous night in the trailer park. She stared at Double Dee for a hair of a second, blushing slightly. Then, with a quick smile she turned and began running down the hallway towards the source of Lee's voice.

"Hold your horses Lee!" she yelled in her shrill voice that Double Dee had been accustomed to as she ran "I was just taking care of some business!"

"Well do it on your own time!" shouted Lee's voice. The sisters began a conversation which began to decay away as they walked down the hallway away from Double Dees position.

Double Dee had once again stood speechless. He was absolutely shocked at what he had just saw. Marie Kanker, the girl who would, prior to the recent chain of events, grab him as if it was nothing and kiss him in front of the entire school, was now acting like a shy soft-spoken school girl who just confessed to the popular jock that she liked him. Double Dee suspicions that Marie was something more than she seemed were confirmed. He knew Marie Kanker was truly different than her sisters. Inside the seemingly obnoxious, hard, and tough appearance that she created, Marie had deep seated emotions. Emotions that Double Dee had been able to pick up on during the course of the last two days, and that he would love to see even more of.

Double Dee had become so in tune to his thoughts that he had almost forgotten about the folded piece of paper that Marie had placed in his hand. He opened up his hand to see a small square of paper about three inches in width. On the front face was his name, Edd. He proceeded to unfold the paper until he found a letter written on the inside of the paper. At first glance, he was struck by how neat and beautiful the hand writing was on the paper. He finally began reading the words inscribed on the paper in blue ink.

_Edd,_

_I know that we have had a turbulent past and there were many things that shouldn't have been done. I just want to let you know that I really admire the person you are. You are intelligent, respectful and a gentleman. Oh and extremely cute too! (Marie had inserted a heart in red ink as well as a smiley face winking after the last statement). I would really like to meet up with you alone, say maybe sometime at the carnival Friday night. I would really like to connect with you and get to know the person you really are. And I was hoping that you would want to get to know me too. If not, I totally understand why, after all there was no excuse for a lot of the things I did to you and your friends._

_I hope to see you there,_

_XO Marie_

Double Dee read the note over a dozen times before the full effect of the words was actually absorbed into his retinas. Double Dee was in awe at the command Marie had of language, never expecting her to write a letter as nice and neat as the one he had just read. By now Double Dee was ecstatic, a girl really liked him, and he was quite enamored with her as well.

Caught up in his own emotions, Double Dee had almost forgotten about Biology class. He quickly rushed back down the hallway and opened the door. He was quite embarrassed as the teacher had already started her lecture.

"Pardon me for my tardiness." said Double Dee.

Double Dee walked in and sat down in his usual place next to Eddy.

"What took ya so long Sock Head?" asked Eddy.

"Oh nothing, I just had to relieve myself in the restroom." replied Double Dee.

It was then that Double Dee looked up at the board and to his horror, saw the words:

ESSAY DUE TODAY PLACE ON FRONT DESK.

He had just realized that he had never finished his biology essay. Although devastated that he would have to turn it in the next day with a five point penalty, he was way too entranced with the aspect of being alone with Marie at the carnival on Friday night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_Double Dee was standing in his room counting and observing the behavior of his insects. All 4,837 ants were accounted for, and the rest of his pets were as healthy as could be. With a quick check on Jim, the cactus, his room inspection was complete. As he prepared his bed for a good nights sleep, there was a knock on his bedroom door._

_"Come in mother!" he yelled, assuming it was his mother knocking on the door. He turned around and to his delight and surprise, saw Marie Kanker standing in his doorway._

_"Guess again love." said Marie in a cute voice while smiling at him. Double Dee ran over to her and embraced her. As he hugged her, he picked her up and spun her around in a circle twice. Marie chuckled as he did this. Double Dee put Marie down, pushed her hair out of her covered eye with his hand and stared into the beautiful green gems that were her eyes._

_"You can't possibly comprehend how much I love you Marie." said Double Dee, smiling at Marie._

_"I love you too Double Dee!" said Marie back, smiling into his blue eyes._

_Double Dee placed his hand on Maries face, and began inching closer and closer to her, his lips preparing to contact hers._

_"Double Dee." she said as he inched closer._

_"Yes my love." He said back inching even closer._

_"Double Dee" she repeated._

_"Yes my love." he repeated once more. He was just about to touch her lips, when she apparently yelled._

_"DOUBLE DEE!"_

Double Dee jumped out of the chair he was sitting in startled, finding himself standing up behind his lab bench in the middle of the classroom. He took a quick glance around the room and noticed that all of the students were staring at him. Ed was gazing at him in a confused manner, while Eddy was grinning at him with a cocky smile. Kevin couldn't help but to do the same. Nazz was trying as hard as she could not to explode in laughter.

The whole class let out a big "OOOOH." and began laughing. Eddy leaned into Double Dee, bumping him with his elbow.

"Way to go Double Dee, I didn't think you had it in ya to hit on a teacher, it must be the season." He said while grinning.

Double Dee had realized the unthinkable. He had inadvertently spent the last five minutes of class in a vivid daydream about Marie, and in doing so, confused the teacher's voice calling his name for hers. Double Dee was embarrassed beyond belief.

"I apologize whole heartedly for my Freudian slip, Ms. Fulep." said Double Dee in an extremely nervous tone. "I hope that we can surely put all of this behind us."

The teacher stood stone faced for a few seconds before nodding. She gestured Double Dee to take his seat. Double Dee sat back down in his seat and opened his notebook to a blank page.

"So who's the lucky lady?" asked Kevin, turning around in his desk to make eye contact with Double Dee.

"What lady?" Double Dee said nervously.

"The one that you were dreaming about and confused the teacher with." said Kevin.

At this point, Eddy, Ed and Nazz were also glaring at him waiting for an answer. Double Dee struggled with what to say next. . He was not ashamed of his crush on Marie, but he knew now was not the time to tell anyone, as it could possibly cause even more trouble between the Eds and the Kankers then there already was. Although he felt terrible lying to his best friends, he had to do something to protect his secret.

Fortunately Eddy decided to chime in

"You gotta be kidding, Kevin. You think Double Dee has a girlfriend? He was probably just thinking about math or some geeky experiment of his!"

"The dork's got a point!" said Kevin as he and the rest of the kids in the group began laughing.

"Double Dee's got the right idea going after Ms. Fulep, the old hag is so desperate, she'd be willing to put up with anything!" said Eddy.

The last joke was followed up by even more laughter than the previous one. Although Double Dee was once again the subject of one of Eddy's childish jokes, he did not feel the slightest bit upset. In fact, Eddy had just saved him from an extremely difficult decision.

However, although Double Dee was now safe, the ruckus the jokes had caused did not go without consequence. The group of five soon found little white detention slips sitting on their desks. Double Dee in particular had two, the incident he pulled earlier in the class coupled with him being involved in Eddy's antics had earned him both a lunch detention and an after school detention.

The rest of the day was a blur to Double Dee. During both detention periods, Double Dee began to question what he has become. Throughout the course of the day, he had done numerous things that did not fit his character, such as being late to class and daydreaming. He had also gotten his first two detentions, which he wasn't particularly proud of. He began to wonder if being infatuated with someone was a blessing or a curse.

However, in addition to analyzing himself, he had also spent much of the detention time dreaming about Marie. He was unhappy about having detention and was quite looking forward to having his lunch period today, as it was the only time he saw Marie on Wednesdays. He knew this because he and his friends would try to spend every Thursday away from the lunch room by faking extra-curricular activities, as the Kankers tended to be especially amorous on days when their "Ed harassing time" was limited to one period. He now wanted nothing more than to be in the cafeteria if only to admire her beauty.

Finally the day was over, and Double Dee was released from his late detention. Because the rest of the kids only had lunch detention, Double Dee was forced to trek home all by his lonesome. In addition, to his misfortune, the "Ed-Mobile" was no longer where Double Dee had placed it; all's that was left was a sticky note that read.

_I hope you don't mind that we took the bike, the chain was so loose that it was begging to be stolen so we did you a favor and took it with us. It will be in your shed when you get home._

_Eddy_

Double Dee knew that Eddy did not take the bike because he did not want it to get stolen, but rather, seeing the opportunity to free the bike from the rushed and improperly attached chain job that Double Dee had performed that morning, took the bike to avoid having to walk home. Double Dee was disappointed that he would have to travel back to the cul-de-sac by himself, as it was a long walk and the winter sun had already begun to set.

As Double Dee passed through the town's business district, he heard familiar voices from around the corner. He peeked around the corner, and standing about thirty feet in front of him in front of the cosmetology store, were Marie and May Kanker. The girls were holding bags of supplies and had apparently just exited the store

"Come on let's try this one!" said May, pointing to a store across the street.

"They're not going to have it stupid!" replied Marie. May placed the bag of supplies she purchased on the ground and proceeded to go through them with Marie.

"I hope this is the makeup Lee wanted, because it's the stuff she's getting!" said Marie as she picked up a black tube from the bag. May pulled out a jar of perfume and sprayed it in the air in front of her, inhaling the smell.

"Do you think this smell will drive Big Ed crazy" asked May.

"How am I supposed to know?" said Marie, as she continued to go through the bag of supplies.

"I can't stand it! Why do we always have to do Lee's shopping for her while she sits in front of the TV like a fat slob." said May.

"Tell me about it," replied Marie "And she had the guts to use the last of my Crankshaft #5, which by the way is not going to be in that store either May!"

Marie leaned closer into May's face.

"And do you know why? Because it's out of production! I will never have it again!" yelled Marie.

"Hey, don't get pissy with me!" yelled May in her adenoidal and slightly lispy voice. "Just because you can't you can't find your perfume and you didn't get to kiss your man today doesn't mean you're the queen of the world!"

"Ahh shut up May!" said Marie as she pushed May down the street away from Double Dees position. The two girls continued arguing even as they rounded the corner and out of Double Dee's sight.

Double Dee wanted to talk to talk to her, he wanted to run up and to her tell her how much he liked her right then and there. He wanted to kiss her, instead of fighting against being kissed by her as he usually did. Double Dee began to imagine all of the things he would do if May was not standing with her a few seconds ago. However, after a few minutes of day dreaming, he realized that he would probably not have never gotten any further than standing next to Marie before he began to blush and babble like an idiot. He was extremely shy and very nervous around girls.

Upon this realization, he began to fear going to the carnival to meet Marie. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself in front of the girl of his dreams. He had to make sure he didn't blow possibly his only chance with Marie. He needed something to break the ice, a nice gesture, or a gift. After brainstorming for a few seconds, Double Dee had come up with an amazing idea for Marie's gift. He quickly ran down the street towards the cul-de-sac to promptly begin working it.

Double Dee had finally reached his house. Double Dee couldn't help but notice that the "Ed-Mobile" was sitting on his lawn out in the open, instead of placed in his shed as Eddy had promised on his sticky note. No matter, he had serious work to tend to.

Double Dee ran up to his room, opened the door and closed it behind him.

"HI DOUBLE DEE!" yelled an obnoxious voice that startled Double Dee. Double Dee turned around and saw Ed standing in his room.

"Ed, what are you doing here. How did you get in here?" asked Double Dee, as he rushed to take his coat off.

"Through the window." Ed said nonchalantly.

"I probably should install a lock on that window." said Double Dee with a dry tone.

"I was wondering if you can help me with the algae homework. It's really really hard." said Ed.

"Ed, I would love to help you with your algebra homework, but I have serious business to attend to." said Double Dee.

"Please Double Dee, the teacher said if I miss one more assignment, she is going to call my mom." said Ed desperately.

Double Dee sighed. "Okay Edd, let me see your notebook." Double Dee ordinarily did not approve of students doing other students assignments for them, but he was extremely pressed for time, and it wasn't in his heart to put his best friend in hot water with a teacher. It didn't take long for Double Dee to do all of Ed's homework.

"Here you go Ed!" said Double Dee.

"Thanks Double Dee, you're the best pal a guy could have!" said Ed.

"Now I don't mean to be rude, but I must be getting to work now." said Double Dee while he hung his coat on his rack.

"Whatever you say Double Dee." said Ed, "I have to get home in time to watch my movie anyway." Ed ran out of Double Dee's room before he even had a chance to respond.

Once Ed had left, Double Dee closed the window that was notoriously used as gateway to his room for the last few days, and sat at his computer desk. He spent an hour researching before he even began working on Marie's gift. After he was sure he knew what he was doing, he traveled down to his garage, where he kept all of his chemicals. Luckily, he had all of the chemicals he needed to do what he needed to do. Double Dee spent hours precisely measuring various chemical compounds, using all of the instruments he had at hand. After he was finished measuring, he placed all of his chemicals into a large flask and swirled the flask, being sure to blend all of them thoroughly. After he was sure he had properly mixed the solution, he added the last few ingredients.

Double Dee had spent six hours perfecting his concoction. It was now time to determine if his hard work had paid off. He gently loosened the lid of the container and leaned down placing his nose at the same level as the container. He began to gently wave the fumes from the substance into his nose.

"Perfection!" he said to himself.

The aroma that hit Double Dee nose was the scent that he had become accustomed to smelling when being smothered by a certain blue-haired girl. It was the same smell that he himself had been drenched in by Marie during a "Canadian Squirt Gun" duel the Ed's had with the Kankers over the previous summer.

Double Dee had successfully reproduced an exact imitation of Crankshaft #5.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

At around the same time Double Dee managed to get home, the blonde and blue haired Kanker sisters had also returned to their trailer dwelling. The two girls flung the door to the trailer open, May carrying two bags, and Marie carrying one.

"Finally, what took ya!" yelled Lee who was sitting on the couch with her feet outstretched.

"What took us is that we were doing all of YOUR shopping Lee!" yelled Marie. May threw one of the bags she had in her hand hard at Lee's chest, knocking the wind out of her slightly.

"That's all of your stuff." said May sarcastically.

"Don't test me May!" said Lee as she sat up on the couch, reaching into the bag and going through the various supplies that were contained within it.

"Great, you got the right stuff!" said Lee, with a grin on her face. She ran over to the mirror and applied the makeup she was holding.

"How do I look?" said Lee, as she grinned at her two sisters.

"Not as good as I will tomorrow night at the carnival," said May. "By the end of the night, me and Ed will be a match made in heaven."

"Well, I bet that all the boys will be swoonin over me!" said Lee as she pumped her red curly hair. "What did you pick up for your man Marie?"

"Nothing special," she said. "Just some lipstick and the usual eye shadow, I just know he's gonna be begging for me to kiss him." said Marie as she hugged herself pretending she was hugging Double Dee.

"Move Lee!" shouted May. "It's my turn in front of the mirror!"

"Screw you!" yelled Marie, shoving May out of the way and into the desk that sat next to the couch. "I need to perfect my gorgeous looks!"

"You bitch!" May yelled as she jumped up and put her hands on Marie's neck. Marie managed to get out of the choke hold and put May in a headlock. The two lost balance and crashed to the floor causing a loud smashing sound. As the girls wrestled on the floor for a few more seconds, a loud series of five bangs came from upstairs as if someone was banging on the floor above.

"Sorry Mom!" yelled Lee, "I forgot to tell these two knuckleheads."

"Mom's home?" asked May.

"Yeah," said Lee. "She said they didn't want her for the night shift tonight, so she's catching some sleep for the morning."

"Why didn't you tell us in the first place Lee?" asked Marie.

"I didn't expect you two to start fighting like wild animals." said Lee.

"Take the mirror May." said Marie, "I'm going into the bathroom." She began walking to the bathroom with the bag she was holding in her hand. The living room of the Kanker's trailer was dark except for the illumination coming from the television. Marie had no idea how May could even see what she was doing in that mirror.

As Marie closed the door to the bathroom, she looked at herself in the mirror. Just as Double Dee had been thinking about her, she had been thinking about him. She wanted him to know who she really was, not who she felt she had to be. She wondered if she was really pretty enough for Double Dee. Marie had never in her life felt beautiful or lady-like, even though she longed for such things.

Marie reached into her pocket and pulled out a beret that had a flower attached to it. She stared at it for a few seconds, reminiscing how she wore it the first time she met Double Dee, after making the Ed's their burgers. She thought that she would give it another shot. She placed the beret in her hair, and moved her hand around, inspecting it to see if it looked presentable.

Marie then reached into her bag and pulled out a red silky blouse. She took her usual black shirt off and slipped the blouse over her head, inspecting herself in the mirror. She then removed her green cargo pants and slipped the jeans that she had bought while she was out onto her legs. She inspected herself all around. The jeans did exactly what she wanted them to do; show off her curves without making it look like she was trying too hard to be sexy.

As she observed herself in the mirror, she began to slip into daydreams about Double Dee until a bang came on the bathroom door.

"Marie what's taking so long I have to take a piss!" yelled May.

"Hold your horses wide-load!" snarled Marie. She quickly blew a kiss smiling at the mirror, pretending it was Double Dee. She briskly re-changed back into her old clothes.

"All's that's missing is Crankshaft #5." she thought to herself as she changed back.

Marie finished up changing and exited the bathroom, to find May standing leaning on the wall right outside the door.

"It's all yours Bucky!" said Marie as she waved her hands toward the bathroom. May began walking in.

"It's a shame you need that much time to perfect your looks." said May as she shut the door.

"You're lucky mom's sleeping," said Marie. She walked over to the couch and sat down next to Lee, resting her elbow on the torn up armrest and sighing. It didn't take long for her to begin thinking about Double Dee. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep dreaming about her "Oven Mitt".


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

As the sun came into view over the distant factory, so did the day many have been anticipating, Valentines Day. Double Dee's alarm went off at 6:00, the time he usually rose out of bed, as he had remembered to set it the night before. He went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He then went back into his room and dressed himself in his favorite educational attire. Double Dee went downstairs to the kitchen. As usual, his parents had already left for work, and various sticky notes were left around the house with tasks for Double Dee to accomplish. After a quick breakfast, he set out to accomplish the tasks before he had to leave for school.

Surprisingly, Eddy was already up. After all, in his mind, he knew he would be the hippest guy at the school with the ladies today. He jumped out of bed and went through his records until he found a recording of "Green Onions" by Booker T. and the MGs. As the music played he threw off his pajamas and slid a pair of jeans over the leopard skin underwear he was already wearing. He then put on a button down shirt, but only buttoned it as far up as his chest, leaving it exposed. He squirted gel into his hands and rubbed his palms together before slicking his hair back. As a final touch, he donned retro 70's style sunglasses and wore them close to his nose.

"Hey good lookin, what's cookin?'", he said to himself in the mirror.

Ed's morning was rather different than his two best friends. It was 6:30, and Ed was still sleeping in his bed. His dreams were soon interrupted by his door slamming open.

"ED!" yelled Sarah.

Ed groaned. "Not now Sarah I'm dreaming." said Ed.

"Mom said to get your big butt out of bed and come upstairs for breakfast!" yelled Sarah, she slammed the door behind her as she left. Ed got out of bed, still wearing the same clothes as he did the previous day. He had never changed into pajamas from the previous night. He disregarded applying any kind of deodorant and left his room for breakfast.

It was now 7:30, Double Dee had finished all of his chores and was in his room brushing up on his studies. Just then, he heard the sound of his doorbell. He quickly ran downstairs and opened the door to see Eddy.

"Geez Double Dee, that's what your wearing today" said Eddy grinning.

Double Dee stood speechless at Eddy at first and then began chuckling. After holding back for a few seconds, he burst into full out laughter at the sight of Eddy's wardrobe choice.

"What, what's so funny?" said Eddy

"Eddy" Double Dee barely got out his words due to his laughter. "You do realize that it is 2012, don't you!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" said Eddy. "If it's my duds your making fun of, your just jealous."

"Oh yeah Eddy." said Double Dee. "I sure am jealous."

"And you should be, cause the lady's are all mine today." said Eddy.

"The only girls you'll get today are the ones that are in those magazines in your room!" said Double Dee chuckling. Eddy stood shocked at Double Dees joke.

"Great, the first time you make an actual good joke and I have to be subject of it." Eddy said disappointed.

"You walked right into that one Eddy." said Double Dee. Eddy walked into Double Dees house and took a seat on the living room chair.

"Hey Double Dee, you've been acting different the last couple days." said Eddy.

Double Dee was shocked, he quickly answered.

"Why do you say that Eddy?" he replied.

"Well for one, you were late to school, two you aren't turning in assignments, and three, you just made a joke about me and my magazines." said Eddy.

"I was just having a bad day yesterday." said Double Dee. "And for your information, I am perfectly capable of having a sense of humor."

"Double Dee, I think you're hiding something." said Eddy grinning slyly.

"That is absolutely absurd Eddy, why would I feel the need to hide anything?" replied Double Dee.

"Spill the beans, you have a girlfriend." said Eddy.

Double Dee had no idea what else to say. He had to do something, as he was trapped between a rock and a hard place.

"Alright, Eddy I will be completely honest with you only because you are one of my closest friends. I may have a little…."

Double Dee was cut off as Ed burst through the door.

"Eddy, Double Dee!" Ed yelled as he walked over to the two boys. He grabbed the both in headlocks. Both boys noticed a really strong odor emanating from his armpits.

"Ed!" yelled Eddy. "You freaking reek man!"

"Good lord Ed!" yelled Double Dee, "Have you not been bathing again?"

"I have been preparing for this day for weeks Double Dee." said Ed. "No girls for me on this valentines day!"

Ed glanced over at Eddy.

"Eddy, you look just like my grandpa in his picture from high school!" he yelled smiling.

Double Dee began laughing once again. Eddy was furious.

"Can we just shut up about my clothes and get going. I have chicks waiting to be swept off of their feet." Eddy began walking out the door with Ed following him.

"I'll be right down!" yelled Double Dee as he was walking up his stairs. "I just have to grab my supplies." Double Dee entered his room. Double Dee let out a sigh of relief. Once again, he had been saved from having to confess anything, thanks to Ed's shenanigans. He grabbed his book bag, but not before putting his gift to Marie in it. He had used the last of his cologne and placed the perfume within the used bottle to make it look more presentable. He couldn't wait to get to school. He wanted to be with Marie more than ever now and he hoped that his gift would bring that cute, sweet, innocent smile that he longed to see to her face.

As the Eds walked into Peach Creek junior high, they realized that the rest of the school was excited about Valentines Day as well. All of the students were busy exchanging gifts with one another. Kevin approached Nazz, who was standing at her locker, from down the hall.

"Hey Nazz" said Kevin. Nazz turned around to him.

"Hey Kev!" she replied

"Happy Valentines day!" he said as he handed her a flat box. Nazz opened the box and was amazed by what was inside. It was a green sweater with a gold collar, the gold matching the color of her hair.

"Aww thanks Kev!" she yelled, hugging Kevin. "I love it, I'm going to put it on right now!" she began to run toward the school bathroom before stopping and turning around. "Oh I almost forgot," she pulled out a small box "Happy Valentines day to you too." Kevin opened the box and discovered two bike handle bars with flames painted on them.

"Sweet!" said Kevin. "I've been looking all over for these, thanks Nazz!"

Elsewhere Jimmy and Sarah were exchanging gifts.

"Happy Valentines day Sarah." said Jimmy as he held a large stuffed Teddy bear to Sarah.

"Jimmy, I love him!" said Sarah as she cradled the bear. "Here's something for you too!" Sarah held out a stuffed Tiger.

"Finally, Mr. Yum-Yum has a friend." said Jimmy. "Thank you Sarah" he said as he gave his friend a huge hug.

Eddy walked up to Kevin, who was opening his locker "So Nazz really liked your gift huh?" he said.

"You bet, she's in the bathroom trying it on right now." he said.

"That's good for you Kevin." said Eddy. "But after you see how I handle the ladies today, you're gonna wish you were single again."

Kevin closed his locker and began to turn around. "Right, that'll be the…"

Kevin immediately was stunned in surprise at Eddy's manner of dress. He began laughing hysterically.

"You better hope that your going to the disco, only then will you be able to pick up chicks!" Kevin yelled. The rest of the students began laughing as well. Eddy began to walk away from all of the kids,

"Relax dork!" Kevin yelled, "It's all just in good fun." He said trying to hold back a laugh. Eddy continued to walk to his locker. Ed and Double Dee quickly pursued him to catch up.

"Jealous!" said Eddy. "That's all they are."

"I must admit Eddy that you are a tad overdressed and the style does not conform to the fashion trends of this century, making you stand out like a sore thumb so to speak." said Double Dee as he opened up his locker. Eddy repeated the phrase Double Dee had just said in a whiny and nasally sounding voice as if to make fun of him. After Eddy had finished, two familiar voices filled the air, sending chills down the Ed's spines.

"Hiya boys!" said Lee and May Kanker, in a long drawn out tone of voice.

"Kankers." Eddy muttered under his breath while he was facing the wall.

"Run for it!" yelled Ed.

As both Eddy and Ed tried to run away, Lee and May managed to get their hands on them and pin them to the lockers next to Double Dee.

"Sorry Double Dee." said Lee, as she held Eddy against the locker. "Marie is not going to be here today, but she'll definitely see you at the carnival tonight, guaranteed." she began laughing. "So where were we Eddy." said Lee.

"You were just about to let go of me!" yelled Eddy.

"Don't try to hurt my feelings Eddy, although I love an aggressive man." she giggled and moved closer to Eddy's face. She than looked at Eddy's outfit, "What the hell are you wearing?" she asked. Eddy was even more furious than before.

Meanwhile, May was standing over by Ed, who was petrified beyond belief. May reached into her pocket and pulled out a card.

"For you my love!" she said as she handed Ed the card. It was a white piece of paper folded in half with a pink construction paper heart pasted to the front of it. Inside, it merely said:

_Happy Valentines Day Ed, I love You!_

_Love May_

"I hope you like it." said May. "Now what did you get me?" she said leaning into him smiling.

Ed stood dumbstruck for a few seconds before yelling, "Run away!"

Ed ran past May and grabbed Eddy out of Lee's clutches. The two girls gave chase, leaving Double Dee by himself at his locker. In all of the commotion, Double Dee couldn't figure out why Marie would miss school. The Kankers usually stuck together, and were never without one another. He couldn't help feeling slightly crushed. The rest of the school day, Double Dees surprise remained in his book bag, and never fell into Marie's hands as he had intended.

The day seemed to come and go quickly for Double Dee. Before he knew it, the afternoon bell had rung and he and his friends walked out of their last period class. Eddy was furious.

"This stinks, if the stupid Kankers weren't involved, I would have had about ten girls phone numbers!" yelled Eddy.

"I hardly believe that the prescience of the Kankers had anything to do with it Eddy." said Double Dee giggling.

"Easy for you to say!" yelled Eddy. "Your hussy wasn't here today to harass you!"

Double Dee became slightly angry at the word "hussy" being used to describe Marie, but regained his composure and played into Eddy's words to keep suspicion away.

"I suppose I am pretty lucky." said Double Dee.

After minutes of walking, the Ed's had finally reached the cul-de-sac. The carnival did not open until 7:00, and they still had about 2 hours to kill.

"I'm going to go change into something else, seeing as how everyone thinks I look like an idiot." said Eddy, "Let's all meet up at around quarter of and we'll all walk back down to the school for the carnival."

"On the contrary Eddy," said Double Dee. "I will joining you a little later than expected tonight, I must finish cataloging the new ant larva."

"Whatever you say Double Dee." said Eddy, "You'll just cramp my style anyway. Alright then Lumpy, I guess it's just you and me ."

"No more mushy stuff for Ed!" Ed yelled as he ran to his house screaming.

"Ed come on man!" Eddy yelled while chasing after Ed angrily.

Double Dee took this opportunity to return to his house. Of course, they were no new ant larvae, he just needed a suitable excuse not to be with Ed and Eddy so that he could be alone with Marie. He wished he could tell them about his new affections, as it would end his guilt about lying to his best friends, but he knew it would be best for him to keep the secret a little while longer.

Double Dee spent the next hour in his room. He had changed out of the clothes he had worn earlier that day. He now wore a blue button down shirt, as well as a pair of jeans. Double Dee applied "Manly Musk" aftershave to his face, and then proceeded to check himself out in the mirror.

When he was sure that everything was perfect, he realized that it was still only 6:15. His friends would be leaving in a half an hour, and he planned to leave at least fifteen minutes later to avoid being caught with them. He could only hope that Marie was not sick, as she wasn't in school and still wanted to meet up with him. More importantly, he also hoped that she could figure out a way to show up without her sisters on her back.

Just then, the doorbell rang. Double Dee ran downstairs to the front door, wondering who could possibly be on the other sid. He unlatched the lock, and slowly opened the door.

Double Dee froze as he saw Marie standing right in front of him. She was wearing, the same outfit that she had bought from the store a couple of nights ago, complete with the flower beret in her hair. She was carrying a black purse in her right hand. Double Dee could not help but blush upon taking sight of Marie's beauty. Marie took notice that Double Dee was blushing, began to turn red herself. Double Dee broke the silence.

"He-Hello M-M-Marie" said Double Dee, shaking and sweating profusely, "What a pleasant surprise."

"Hello Double Dee." said Marie as she smiled.

"Please come in." said Double Dee nervously.

Marie slowly made her way into Double Dees house and sat down on his living room couch. Double Dee waited for her to pass, after which he shut the wooden door of his house behind her.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Double Dee had longed for this moment, a moment alone with Marie, since that Wednesday night at the Kanker sisters trailer. But he somehow felt like he wasn't ready to face her. He thought that he'd have more time to prepare himself, to gain confidence. Now he was definitely sure he would blow his chance.

"So are you just gonna stand over there by the door all night, or are you gonna come sit next to me big guy?" said Marie in a cute and semi-seductive voice.

Double Dee, broken away from his thoughts by the sound of the voice he longed to hear slowly turned around. He felt himself breaking into a sweat as he met eyes with Marie. As he did, he felt his cheeks fill with fire. He couldn't help but notice that Marie giggled and turned a bright shade of red herself as she looked down and away from him.

"Hello Marie." said Double Dee as he walked over to her. "What a pleasant surprise. I didn't expect to see you here."

Marie looked up at Double Dee.

"Well remember, you always have to expect the unexpected with me, Double Dee." she said as she giggled and twirled her hair.

Double Dee stood shocked as he stared at Maries beautiful face.

"I suppose I do, Marie." said Double Dee nervously. "The walk from your home must have exhausted you, would you perhaps like a refreshment to quench your thirst?"

Marie giggled.

"I think it is so cute when you use that sexy vocabulary of yours." she said as she crossed her legs and leaned back on the couch. Double Dee froze and choked up at that last statement. A girl had just complemented his intelligence, which he thought was a reason he failed to impress girls.

"But seriously, a drink would be great, what do you have?" said Marie.

"W-we-well, let's see, mother is sure to have stocked fresh carrot juice in the refrigerator. We also have water, supplied either from the tap or in a bottle, at your discretion. There is also a bottle of Pepsi situate…"

Marie cut Double Dee off before he finished, as she smiled.

"Pepsi please!" said Marie.

"Your wish is my command." said Double Dee as he walked out of the living room and into his kitchen, smiling at Marie. He couldn't help but think how cliché the phrase he had just said was, and he was sure he had made himself look like a complete buffoon. He quickly poured Marie's Pepsi into one of the various assorted glasses in his kitchen cabinet and filled up another glass of water for himself. He walked back out into the living room to find Marie standing up, looking at various pictures around the room.

"Here is your soda Marie." said Double Dee as he handed her the glass, his hand shaking furiously out of nervousness. Marie took notice and put down her drink on the coffee table.

"Look, Double Dee." she said as she grabbed Double Dees hand and lead him to couch. She pushed him down onto the couch. "I'm not going to attack you, I'm not going to kiss you without permission, I'm not out to hurt you, so you can stop being nervous around me cutie!"

Marie took a seat next to Double Dee.

"Listen, I like you." she said, with an innocent look on her face. She began to blush.

"I mean, it has been obvious that we Kankers have liked you Ed's since we have moved here." said Marie as she looked down at her hands, which were resting on her legs. Double Dee turned his head and looked over at her face.

"But, I feel what I have for you is something more than just a girlhood crush, Double Dee." said Marie.

Double Dee was intrigued by Marie's statement.

"What do you mean, Marie?" Double Dee said in a calm voice as he moved closer to her on the couch.

"Well, I mean, it's weird. You see how my sisters are obsessed with your friends, and chase them all over like they want to be their girlfriends?" said Marie.

"Yes, how could I not notice that." said Double Dee, chuckling. Marie chimed in with her own little chuckle as well.

"Well, what they have are merely crushes on your friends, there would be absolutely no way that May and Lee would be able to commit. See, your friends are just a couple of the guys that they chase after."

Double Dee sat still and listened to Maries words deeply.

"And I will not lie," said Marie, "I have chased guys around with them before I moved to Peach Creek"

Although a slight hint of jealousy raced through Double Dee for an instant at that last statement, he was so captivated by Marie's beauty and the pure honesty she was demonstrating for him, that he simply did not care. He continued listening to what she had to say.

"But then, we were evicted, and we were forced to move here to the trailer park. We had moved from the city so it was really hard on all of us to adjust to suburban life. One day, while we were outside the trailer doing laundry, we heard a loud boys voice coming from the cul-de-sac. We were so excited to hear the voices of a boy, that we dropped all of the clothes on the muddy ground and ran to see. I can remember that all three of us jumped up and peered over the fence of the lane to see what was going on. We saw Eddy standing on a box yelling into a traffic cone about a 'serial toucher' and how he, you and Ed were going to solve a mystery."

Double Dee giggled.

"Yes, I quite well remember that day. Ed's sister and I had coincidentally misplaced our belongings, and Eddy assumed that someone in the cul-de-sac had stolen them. He then attempted to turn us into detectives to make money off of the kids, which failed miserably I might add."

Marie giggled.

"So anyway, later that day, we saw you guys again, only this time, you had a huge sign on Ed that said 'Don't Touch'. We were already crushing hard on you three all day, and we were tempted to snatch Ed right there, hoping that you three would follow us back to the trailer, where we could do whatever we needed to do with you."

"That is quite disturbing that we were at such a high risk of being attacked and none of us had even the slightest idea." said Double Dee.

"Yeah, it was kind of creepy." said Marie laughing. "But we decided to wait for a better opportunity to strike. After around a month of watching you, we saw you guys in the woods wearing boots and rubber gloves. We knew that it was our time to move in for the kill. I think you know the rest of the story."

"Yes, I know quite well." said Double Dee, as he smiled with his hands folded on top of his legs.

"But, here's the deal Double Dee." said Marie, "During the weeks of watching you, you began to stand out to me. You were different than others. I really admired your intelligence, and how you were always caring and willing to help people. You just always seemed like a gentleman, like the perfect guy. I felt like my feelings for you were stronger than May and Lees feeling for your friends. I really wanted to talk to you on good terms, without all of the conflict that we have caused. Unfortunately, I was too afraid to do that for many reasons, and I managed to give you a bad first impression of me"

"May I ask, what those reasons were, Marie?" said Double Dee.

"Well, I was scared." said Marie.

Double Dee could not believe that a Kanker sister had just admitted that she had been afraid of something. He was so used to the domineering and controlling personality that was typical of Marie, that he could hardly believe what was coming out of her mouth.

"What were you afraid of Marie?" he asked, as he obviously began to feel more comfortable.

"Well, nice guys like you don't particularly fall all over girls with blue hair that wear black." said Marie "And they don't like being chased and tormented by girls like that even more."

At that moment, tears started flowing down Marie's face, her black makeup running down with them. Double Dee's eyes widened.

"You probably think I'm just a trailer park slut after all of the things I did to you and what I have told you tonight." she said.

Double Dee could not believe that a Kanker sister was sitting in front of him, showing a full on display of emotions. He had never thought Marie even had tear ducts. Double Dee, although extremely nervous around girls, managed to get up the courage to move closer to Marie. He put his arm on her shoulder, at which point she looked up into his eyes.

"On the contrary, Marie," said Double Dee as he looked into Maries eyes. "I have been thinking about things since that night I fixed your television"

Double Dee grabbed tissues off of the coffee table. He gently dried Marie's cheeks as she smiled at him. "And I…well…well…"

Marie stared him directly in the face, displaying the smile that Double Dee found oh so attractive. He finally brought himself to finish the sentence as he was sweating profusely.

"Marie, I like you too. I think you are a wonderful person deep down inside and after what you have said tonight, as well as the night that I assisted you with your technical problem, I am sure that I would really love to get to know the real Marie Kanker. I think you are a really special person Marie."

Double Dee could not believe that all have those words have just come out of his mouth. He sat on the couch staring into Maries eyes, feeling like he was on fire. He had just confessed his feelings to the girl he had wanted to confess his feelings to for the last few days, and although he felt like a huge burden was lifted off of his shoulders, he felt more nervous than he ever did before.

"You really mean what you just said Double Dee?" said Marie.

"I mean it from the bottom of my heart." replied Double Dee.

"Nobody has ever told me that I was special before in my life." said Marie.

Double Dee sat staring into her eyes.

"Surely your parents and your sisters think that you are a special person." said Double Dee.

Marie said nothing, as she began crying once more. Double Dee was afraid that he had gone too far with his last statement, as he sensed some anger and sadness in Marie's face.

"Marie, I am so sorry. Please forgive my rudeness, I did not mean for the conversation to bring up any more intense emotions than it already has." Double Dee said in an extremely nervous tone of voice.

"It's not your fault Double Dee, you didn't know." said Marie. "And I certainly did not think it was rude."

"Thank goodness." said Double Dee.

"And as far as my mother goes, she really tries. She holds down a job waitressing tables in a restaurant the business district. She relies on tips, so she sometimes works double shifts because we need as much money as we can get to afford the utilities. We do our best to try to help her out by taking turns working with her at the restaurant for extra money. That's why I wasn't in school today."

Marie wiped her eyes.

"And even though she tries and obviously cares about keeping the unstable family we have on the right path, she has never told any of us that she loved us."

Marie whimpered slightly.

"And it doesn't help that we were all unplanned babies." said Marie as she looked back into Double Dees eyes. "From the little things our mother has told us about her life, I found out that she met Lees father, Butch, in a bar and began 'seeing' him, if you would put it that way, every few nights. A few days later after one particular night, my mother found out that she was pregnant with Lee, and told Butch, who freaked out and stepped out of her life never to return again. A few weeks later, while she was still pregnant with Lee, she met my father. His name was Bill, but everyone called him Bubba. The only thing that she has told me about him was that he was tall, rode a motorcycle, and had sleeve tattoos up the length of both of his arms. Anyway, he moved into my mom's apartment while she was pregnant with Lee, and was in her life until about six months after Lee was born. She told me that he eventually walked out on her, due to him not being able to take Lee's constant crying and demand for her attention. He was lucky that he walked out right then and there if he thought that way about babies, because after an alcohol fueled night that occurred a few weeks prior to his walk out, he managed to create me. My mother tried to track him down, to at least tell him that she was pregnant with his baby, in the small chance that he actually did want anything to do with me. Long story short, she never found him. A few months later, I was born. After I was born, my mother picked up a job waitressing a restaurant in the city, and my grandmother watched us while she was away at work. During her time at the restaurant she met May's father, Roderick, who we she and his friends call Rod. She never told us how May came to be, but what I do know is that he was in our lives until May was three. My mom caught him cheating on her with a prostitute after work one night, and they broke up."

Marie paused.

"Even though they broke up, he still spends time with all of us. He has always treated me and Lee just like his own daughters, and he has always been our main father figure in life. Because of that, I consider him my real father, not that scumbag who doesn't even know I exist."

Double Dee sat speechless. He was astounded that Marie trusted and confided in him enough to tell him her life story. He couldn't believe how much he didn't know about the Kanker sisters. He felt horrible that he had judged them immediately from their outward actions, rather than thinking of some possible causes for their eccentric behaviors. After a moment of silence, Double Dee inquired once again.

"Marie, if you don't mind me asking." said Double Dee. "How is it that you and your sisters are all in the same grade level at school? Even if each of you were born right after one another, it would be impossible for each of you not to be at least a year apart in age."

"My mother delayed me and Lee from going to school until May was old enough for kindergarten. For some reason, she thought it would be easier to keep us all in the same grade level."

"That's quite a strange thing to do." said Double Dee. Marie looked at him and smiled.

"Yeah tell me about it." She said as she chuckled.

"My mother isn't perfect but she does the best she can." said Marie "I guess she is the reason why we thought we should always just chase boys around and never try to commit to relationship. She always told us to never trust men, and that they are only good for money and sex.

Marie chuckled at the last statement, before looking into Double Dee's face with a smile

"But I don't want to be that kind of girl Double Dee." said Marie.

Double Dee continued to stare deeply into Marie's eyes as she continued.

"My sisters have tried to force me to do things with them." said Marie, "And there is one thing that they did that haunts me and still creeps me out every time I think of it."

Double Dee's eyes widened.

"And what was that Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"Remember when you guys pissed the whole neighborhood off last summer?" said Marie.

"How can I forget that disastrous occurrence?" said Double Dee. "Although in the end, the whole ordeal with Eddys brother allowed Eddy to reflect on himself and become a better person."

"Yeah, that's the part I was getting to." said Marie. "Up until that trip, we had just chased you guys, kissed you here and there, and tortured you beyond belief. But after you guys had knocked Eddys brother out and left, Lee and May took things too far. They dragged him back into his trailer while he was still unconscious, and asked made me put the door to the trailer back onto its hinges. When I went into the trailer, I saw them two unbuttoning his pants. They asked me to help them "perform" if you get what I mean. I was appalled that they would actually think about doing something like that, I mean they are 13 and 15 years old. I didn't want anything to do with it, so I faked that I caught a stomach virus from the burritos that I had eaten earlier. It gave me a great excuse to get away."

"It takes a very strong and brave person to remove themselves from a situation like that, especially when there is peer pressure involved." said Double Dee.

"But that's not the worst part." said Marie. "When May and Lee got home, they told me the story in graphic detail. Apparently, Eddys brother had woken up during the ordeal, and made no attempt to stop my sisters from doing what they were doing. In fact, he came up with ideas to make the session 'more creative' as my sisters put it. Keep in mind how old my sisters are, and how old he is. It was totally uncalled for."

Double Dee was completely shocked. He had known that Eddys brother was extremely belligerent and mean spirited, but he had no idea that he was that horrible of a person.

"It hurts." said Marie. "I wish I could somehow convince them that they should stop putting themselves in those kind of situations. I have tried, and I just get made fun of and have to revert back to pretending to please them."

Double Dee sat speechless.

"Just to let you know Double Dee, you may not believe it, but you are the only boy that I have ever kissed." said Marie.

Double Dee saw this opportunity to try to lighten up the conversation.

"Well, I can also confirm that you are the only girl that I ever kissed as well, although you technically forced me to." said Double Dee laughing. Marie laughed back with him.

"You're a very sweet boy Double Dee and you don't even know it." She said, making Double Dee blush once again. She giggled.

In the heat of the deep conversations that they were having, time had flown quicker than the two had thought. It was already fifteen minutes past 7:00, and the two were still sitting in Double Dees house.

"Looks like we're missing the carnival." said Double Dee looking at his clock.

"Ah who cares." said Marie, "This is a whole lot better than some mush fest."

The two looked at each other and laughed, realizing the irony of Marie's statement. Double Dee saw an opportunity to bring the conversation into a lighter tone.

"So Marie, do you have any other requited secrets that you would like to share?" asked Double Dee.

"Depends, what you want to know." she said smiling.

"Anything, my ears are open." said Double Dee.

"Hmm." Marie said, "Well, Marie isn't my full name." she said.

"Really?" said Double Dee. "It's just a nickname?"

"No," replied Marie, "It's just part of my name. My full name is Annemarie."

Double Dee repeated the name Annemarie in his head, it was the most beautiful name he had ever heard.

"All of our names begin the same way." said, Marie interrupting Double Dees thoughts. "My mother named us Annalee, Annemarie, and Annamae. My mom and dad always call us by our full names, but as we got older, we decided to just call each other by the last parts of our names for ease."

"I know how you must feel." said Double Dee. "What a coincidence is it that my two best friends are named Edward. I had to adopt the nickname Double Dee because Eddy had already taken the name 'Eddy'"

"I can't imagine calling you anything else." said Marie giggling.

And so the night went on, with Double Dee and Marie sharing secrets and other things about themselves literally opening their hearts up to each other. Time seemed to flow rather quickly, as Double Dee's wall mounted clock was displaying a time of 11:05 p.m.

"My goodness, it's 11:00 already, I was enjoying myself so much that I completely lost track of time." said Double Dee.

"Everyone should be leaving the carnival by now." said Marie. "I better get home before Lee and May through a fit when I'm not there. I pulled the sick card again." Marie laughed.

"I actually told my friends that I had to stay home and work on some of my experiments." said Double Dee as he giggled.

"I think it's best my sisters and your friends don't know about this quite yet." said Marie. "I really don't think that they would be ready for this kind of news, especially with the past that we have."

Double Dee agreed with her, but wondered what she meant by "this". Did this mean that they were an item? Did he actually have his first girlfriend?

"Um..Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"Yes?" she said smiling at him.

"Do….doe…does this….mean th..hat you and…me ..are.." He said, choking on his words. Marie cut him off by putting her index finger over his mouth, as if to silence him. She leaned into his face.

"Don't worry Double Dee, you have me." she whispered. She then chuckled and began walking towards the door. Double Dee, although in a dream-like euphoria after hearing those last words that were uttered from Maries mouth, remembered that he had forgotten to give Marie her Valentines Day surprise.

"Marie wait!" he yelled. Marie turned around. "Before you go, may I ask you to come up to my room, I have something to show you." He said, motioning her up the stairs.

"Double Dee!" she yelled. "On our first date, how could you?"

Double Dee stood shocked staring at her. Marie began walking over to him and eventually passed him. She began walking up the stairs.

"Relax Oven Mit, I'm only playing with you." she said looking down at Double Dee and winking. Double Dee smiled and followed her upstairs.

When they reached Double Dees room, Double Dee positioned her in the center of the room and turned her around away from him.

"Now close your eyes." He said.

As Marie stood waiting for Double Dee to return, he reached onto his desk and grabbed his concoction. He walked over to Marie and placed the glass flask into her hands.

"Happy Valentines day Marie." he said.

Marie stood staring at the familiar colored fluid in the container she was holding.

"Allow me." said Double Dee. He took the flask out of her hands, and opened the cap. He waved the smell to her nose. Marie's eyes instantly lit up.

"Is..is…that Crankshaft #5?" she said.

"Yes it is." replied Double Dee.

"But how did you…they don't make this anymore." She said.

"Well, it may seem a little bizarre, but I am guilty of stalking you too. The other day, I heard you and May talking outside of the store on my way home from school. I couldn't help but overhear that you had used up your favorite scent, and could not acquire another sample, as it was out of production. Therefore, I took the liberty of searching the internet for the ingredients to the perfume, and used the chemicals I had in my garage to create a new sample of th….."

Double Dee was cut off before he could finish the sentence. To his surprise, Marie had rushed forward and placed her lips on his. The momentum caused Double Dee to fall onto his bed, with Marie laying on top of him, embracing him with her lips still locked into his. Inside, Double Dee was on cloud nine, he had never felt better in his life than he did at this very moment. He had just been kissed by a girl, a genuine kiss, not one of the forced kisses he was so used to receiving. Without hesitating, although he was quite nervous and felt slightly awkward in this predicament, Double Dee placed his arms around Marie's body, and voluntarily kissed her back for the first time. After what seemed like an eternity, Marie finally pulled away from Double Dees lips, but remained close to his face.

"Double Dee, you are so sweet!" she said. "You must have spent hours making this."

"Well, it didn't take that long." he said "I just wanted to see you smile." Double Dee blushed.

"Thank you so much Double Dee!" Marie yelled as she embraced him once again, kissing him on the cheek.

The two got up off of the bed and headed back downstairs. They began to walk toward the front door.

"I had a great time with you Double Dee." said Marie.

"As did I Marie." replied Double Dee.

"Hey, why don't you come over to my trailer tomorrow night?" said Marie. "Lee will be out with my mom, and May is going over my dad's house. We won't have to worry about being bothered."

Double Dee was ecstatic, and quickly replied to Marie's question.

"I would like nothing more, Marie." said Double Dee, as he opened the door to his house. The cold winter air rushed in, sending a chill through his body.

"Great, I'll see you around 7:00?" she said.

"Sounds like a plan." replied Double Dee.

"Well, I better get going before I get caught." said Marie laughing.

"Alright then." said Double Dee as he stared into her eyes.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds when Marie smiled.

"So, boyfriend?" she said. "Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna kiss me goodnight?" she said in a playful manner.

Double Dee was enticed by the word boyfriend. He could hardly believe that just a few hours ago, he was a shy geeky kid who never thought he would be able to have a girlfriend. Now, a few hours later, he was about to kiss the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on.

Double Dee slowly began to lean into Maries face with his eyes closed. He began to feel Maries warm breath coming from her nose, and he knew he was just millimeters away from initiating his first kiss.

"Just kiss me already cutie." Marie whispered really softly. Double Dee felt her lips brush against his ever so slightly. At that instant, he did it. His lips made full contact with hers for a full ten seconds. Double Dee couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. It had not been the first time he had been kissed, but it was the first time he initiated a kiss; and he liked it.

After a few seconds, the new couple pulled away from each other. Marie stared into Double Dees eyes and began turning around to walk home.

"See you later Double Dee." she said as she looked back at him.

"Goodbye Marie, see you tomorrow." He said as he watched his girlfriend walk down the path from his house, cross the street, and disappear behind the gates near the inlet of the cul-de-sac. Double Dee closed the door. The instant he closed the door, he began running around the room, cheering for himself in his mind. He ran over to the CD player that was in the living room, put on a sample of rock music and began dancing around the room in his own little world. In his mind he was officially a man. Absolutely nothing could bring him down from the intense love high he was feeling at the moment.

Double Dee had not noticed that while he was having fun with himself, the front door had opened and Ed and Eddy were standing in his living room. Both boys were cracking up at Double Dees display.

"Hey Sockhead!" Eddy yelled, his obnoxious voice easily overpowered the music.

"Eddy!" yelled Double Dee as he quickly turned off the music, embarrassed that he had been seen displaying such eccentric behavior. "What are you two doing here, how was your night at the carnival?"

Ed was dressed in the same clothes as he was that morning. Eddy had changed out of his 70's style clothes, and was wearing a simple red button-down shirt with jeans.

"Don't even ask." said Eddy in a groggy voice.

"The Kankers got a hold of Eddy and took him for a ride on the tunnel of love." said Ed.

"This was the worst Valentines day ever!" yelled Eddy in his usual obnoxious voice. Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle while imagining what Eddy had gone through.

At that moment Ed and Eddy noticed something on Double Dee's face. They both began grinning.

"What?" said Double Dee.

"I knew it!" said Eddy

"You knew what?" replied Double Dee. "What's so funny?"

"Forgot to clean up afterwards?" said Eddy. Ed began laughing with him.

"What in lords name are you talking about?" yelled Double Dee.

"Look in the mirror." said Eddy while grinning.

Double Dee quickly rushed over to the wall mirror to inspect himself. To his horror, sitting right in the middle of his right cheek, was a lipstick impression of Maries lips from when she had kissed him after receiving her gift. Double Dee stood shocked, having no idea what to do next.

"So." said Eddy as he sat down on Double Dees couch. "Who is she?"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Double Dee stood in front of the mirror speechless. Why didn't he check himself? Why couldn't he have at least looked into the mirror after Marie had left? Why did his friends have to show up? Double Dee had realized that no matter what he did, it would take a miracle to take Eddy's mind off the subject at hand.

"Double Dee has been contaminated by the creepy repulsive monsters that are girls." said Ed as he grabbed onto Eddy. "Soon, Double Dee will succumb to their mind control and we will be forced to abandon our best friend as to not get infected ourselves."

"Ed you're an idiot." said Eddy before turning to Double Dee "Double Dee! You've been holding out on us. Who is the lucky lady?"

Double Dee stood in silence, trying to think of an appropriate explanation to the stain on his cheek.

"I'm waiting." said Eddy grinning.

Double Dee brainstormed and came up with a reasonable answer. He had no idea if Eddy would believe such a thing.

"Very well Eddy, if you must know, I am in a relationship." said Eddy. "Her name is.."

He paused for a second to try to come up with a name, he simply reversed the order and slightly modified Maries full name.

"Maryanne, she is from Lemon Brook. I met her a few weeks ago while I was walking home from school."

Double Dee had a hard time making up lies, and even more so making up lies about having a girlfriend. He wanted to tell his friends that he had just had the time of his life with Marie, but he knew that he would be faced with ridicule. Not that he cared, but he didn't want to cause unnecessary commotion for Marie, as well as start any trouble between his friends and her sisters.

Double Dee did not expect Eddy to believe one word of his lie.

"Way to go Double Dee!" said Eddy as he walked over and put Double Dee in a headlock, giving him a noogie.

"Eddy, you're giving me a headache." said Double Dee.

"See, what did I tell you, all those years of hanging with me really paid off." said Eddy as he grinned at Double Dee.

"Yeah Eddy, you're all the rage when it comes to love, may I remind you of your little incident at the carnival tonight." Said Double Dee as he snickered

"I would have been fine, but Monobrow bailed on me at the last minute. I got stuck with all three of the Kankers in the dark, and he wasn't there to take any of the heat." said Eddy.

"My goodness, they waited to ambush you until you were in the darkness?" said Double Dee.

"Yeah" said Eddy. "I got set up with Ericka, that hot chick from Bio, in the mystery match. And then as usual, Lee shows up, pushes the girl out of the way and said she was going with me. The operator pushed the boat into the tunnel. The other two were hiding in the tunnel waiting for my boat to pass."

"And you didn't even see them?" Double Dee inquired.

"No, but I sure as hell felt them." replied Eddy.

Double Dee couldn't believe it. He did not have to worry about the suspicion that might have arose by Marie not being at the carnival. Eddy, in the midst of a sneak attack in the darkness, had confused one extra Kanker, for two.

"But anyway, who cares about that." said Eddy. "Is Maryanne hot?"

"Yeah, she is the most exquisite, beautiful girl in the world." said Double Dee, thinking of Marie's smile.

"I can't believe it Ed!" said Eddy, "Sockhead actually got a girlfriend before I did."

"I must save you Double Dee!" yelled Ed as he ran over towards Double Dee.

"Put a lid on it lumpy." said Eddy as he grabbed Ed and began pulling him to the front door. "Come on monobrow, it's late, our parents are gonna flip."

Eddy began to close the door to Double Dees house before turning around and making one last statement.

"And Double Dee, we're gonna talk about this tomorrow." he said while grinning before he shut the door.

With that, Ed and Eddy both exited the front door of Double Dees house. Double Dee could not believe that Eddy had bought his story. On a bad note, he could not believe that he had just stood in front of his two best friends, and lied directly to their face, as he had praised himself for his honesty all of his life.

But then, as he walked upstairs to get ready for bed, he thought about his night with Marie. All of the doubt he had about what he was doing virtually vanished as he pictured her laying under his covers with him smiling at him with that gorgeous face of hers. It was that thought that had allowed Double Dee to retire to the world of dreams as a happy young man. He drifted off to sleep peacefully, excited to see his Marie again the next day.

The next morning was Saturday morning, and the cul-de-sac was extremely active, as it was every Saturday morning. Sarah and Jimmy were playing hopscotch in the street while Johnny sat on the curb eating ice cream with Plank. Of course, Plank didn't eat the ice cream, but rather ended up with much of the strawberry flavored substance smeared all over his face. The rest of the kids and the Eds, minus Double Dee, were at the playground on the basketball court playing a game. Nazz was sitting on the bench watching Kevin play and cheering him on. It was two vs. two, and it happened to be Rolf and Kevin vs. Ed and Eddy. Naturally, Kevin's team was winning, and Eddy was becoming competitive.

"Rolf was off sides!" yelled Eddy after accusing Rolf of breaking the rules on the last play.

"No he wasn't dork that was a fair play." yelled Kevin.

"I say we redo." yelled Eddy.

"Whatever." said Kevin as he chest-passed the ball directly into Eddy's ribs. "We're still gonna score, so it doesn't matter."

Eddy dribbled the ball for a few seconds until he saw Double Dee running up to the court. He had been home all morning performing his Saturday morning chores. Eddy grinned as Double Dee approached.

"Good afternoon gentleman, how are you all on this beautiful day." said Double Dee.

"We're doing great," said Eddy smiling. "How is Maryanne?"

Double Dee had forgotten about the little charade he concocted the previous night to explain the lipstick stain.

"Who is this Maryanne you speak of?" said Rolf.

"Double Dee's girlfriend." said Eddy, turning around and grinning at Rolf.

"NO WAY!" yelled Kevin. "You're serious, he really does have a girlfriend?"

"We went over to his house last night after the carnival and caught hot lips here with a bright red, plain as day, lip stick stain on his cheek." said Eddy.

The whole group of boys all went OOOHHHH simultaneously. Double Dee was filled with embarrassment.

"The brainy Ed boy his finally succumbed to the affections of a female… I celebration I say!" yelled Rolf.

"Alright Double Dee!" yelled Kevin as he walked over toward him. He pounded Double Dee on his back. "I didn't know you had it in ya!"

The boys all began laughing. Double Dee was extremely uncomfortable with all of the attention he was receiving, He had to do something to get away from it all, or he would surely collapse under the pressure.

"Pardon me gentlemen, I would love to tell you stories about my recent entry into a romantic relationship, but I seemed to have forgotten to take the wash out of the dryer, as requested by my parents, I really must go finish my duty." Double Dee yelled as he turned around and began running home.

"Wait Double Dee, tell us about her!" yelled Eddy

"I will be back after I have completed my chores!" Double Dee yelled as he disappeared around the corner of the fence.

"What was that all about?" said Eddy, "That was the fastest I've ever seen him run."

"I bet he doesn't have a girlfriend." said Kevin. "That's why he ran he was embarrassed to confess."

"No, I think it's because you guys just stood here and bombarded him with a million questions!" yelled Nazz. "Now just leave him alone and continue with your game Kev."

Kevin leaned into Eddy and rolled his eyes. "Women, huh."

Eddy chuckled under his breath. Kevin passed the basketball he was holding to Eddy and all of the boys resumed their game.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Double Dee never returned to the court. Instead, he spent the next few hours bathing extensively, applied cologne, and preparing himself for his time with Marie. Time had flown, and it was already quarter to seven. He was extremely surprised that Eddy and the rest of the crew had not tried to come over his house to pester him. After making sure that he looked presentable, he proceeded to grab his coat off of his rack and head downstairs.

Double Dee felt like a million bucks and could not wait to see Marie again. His heart pounded as he opened his front door and proceeded to walk down the path from his house. He was very cautious not to let anyone see him. His heart continued racing as he made his way down the cross street, and into the trailer park. Double Dee could only hope that Marie had been right about no one else being home at this time.

Double Dee had finally reached the trailer. He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, before nervously knocking on it three times. It seemed like an eternity before the inner door finally unlatched and began to open. Double Dees heart raced as he saw the beautiful face of his girlfriend emerge from behind the door. She was smiling, and was even more beautiful than ever. She was wearing a blue form fitting shirt and a pair of jeans, rather than her usual black and green attire. Double Dee couldn't help but think how nice she looked in that outfit.

"Hey cutie!" said Marie. "Come on in." she said as she smiled and held the door open for him.

"Hello Marie, how are you this evening?" Double Dee asked as he entered the trailer, nervous as usual.

The trailer was dark, except for the intermittent glow caused by the television. There were no over head lights in the dropped ceiling, and the two lamps resting on the tables did not appear to have bulbs in them. There was a slight smell of cigarette smoke throughout the trailer, due to the sisters mothers habit of smoking indoors.

"Don't just stand there, have a seat, stay awhile!" said Marie as she pushed him playfully onto the couch. "I'll go get you some water." Marie said as she winked at him and began walking into the kitchen. She returned with a bottle of water.

"Thank you Marie, I am quite parched." said Double Dee as he unscrewed the cap to the bottle and took a sip.

Marie sat down on the couch next to Double Dee, close enough for their knees to be touching. Even with the slightest touch from her, he felt a wave of heat pass through his body. Once again, he was sweating. The couple sat watching the television for a few seconds before Double Dee broke the ice.

"We may have a situation." Said Double Dee

"What do you mean?" replied Marie, as she looked over towards Double Dee.

"Well, see last night after you left, Ed and Eddy surprised me at my house on their way home from the carnival. The problem is that after you kissed me on the cheek, you left a lipstick stain and they saw it. Now Eddy won't stop tormenting me about having a girlfriend."

"So what did you say?" said Marie.

"I couldn't think of any other possible way to get out of it, so I confessed that I had a girlfriend named Maryanne, and that she lived in Lemon Brook." said Double Dee.

"Maryanne?" Marie chuckled. She moved closer to Double Dee on the couch. "Is she attractive?" she said playfully, while she leaned into Double Dee, who began sweating.

"Funny you should ask that, that was Eddys first question?" he said while smiling.

"Well" said Marie as she smiled and put both of her arms around Double Dee. "If Maryanne thinks that she can steal my man." she leaned even closer to his ear so that her lips were practically brushing against it "I'll just have to let him know that he's way better off with me in all aspects."

Double Dee was on fire inside. He felt a wave of warmth come over his cheeks and the rest of his body. Marie took notice.

"Oh relax cutie, I'm just joking with you." she said while she laughed. Double Dee chuckled back. There were a few more seconds of silence before Marie chimed in once again.

"So Oven Mitt," said Marie as she leaned her head on Double Dees shoulder. Double Dee tensed up slightly. "I don't think that you ever got around to telling me why you never take that hat of yours off."

Double Dee tensed up even more so than before. Why did the conversation have to turn to this so soon?

"I bet you have some really nice hair underneath, can I see it." said Marie in a playful tone. Marie reached for his hat and began tugging on it, at which point it began to slip off.

"STOP!" Double Dee yelled as he jumped off of the couch, startling Marie. He looked at Marie's face. She looked as if she was about to cry.

"I'm sorry Double Dee." said Marie. "I didn't mean to make you that upset."

"No Marie I'm sorry for yelling as I did." said Double Dee as he gripped his hat.

Double Dee had never removed his hat voluntarily while in public and the only people who knew what he looked like without it were his two best friends Ed and Eddy. He had decided that it was time to let Marie in on his secret.

"Marie." said Double Dee as he sat down on the couch next to her once again. He put his hand on hers. He looked down at his hand, and saw her rusty red nails curling around his hand embracing it.

"Yes, Double Dee?" she said with a serious look on her face.

"I have something that I would really like to share with you." Double Dee said while staring down at their interlocked hands. He then looked at Marie in her eyes. "Even though it is very hard for me to talk about it."

Marie now stared at Double Dee with a serious look on her face.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Double Dee." she said, squeezing his hand in hers.

"I need to tell you Marie." said Double Dee. "I need someone I can truly trust to talk to about it."

"I am all ears Double Dee." said Marie.

Double Dee sighed. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He opened it and pulled out a small 2x3 inch photograph. He held it between him and Marie.

"Do you recognize anyone in this picture?" said Double Dee.

Marie stared at the picture. There were two small boys, no more than 6 years old, that looked exactly alike, sitting in what appeared to be an armchair. The two boys both had thick black hair parted on the side on their head and were both smiling, as if they were laughing at something that was happening behind the camera. Marie took notice that each of the boys looked exactly like younger versions of Double Dee.

"Double Dee, they look like you." said Marie

"Correct assumption Marie." said Double Dee. He pointed at the boy on the left. "This is me."

Double Dee sat for a few seconds before pointing to the little boy on the right.

"This is my identical twin, James." he said with a sorrowful look on his face.

Marie sat speechless, staring seriously at Double Dee.

"My family lived in New Hope for the first few years of our life. We had a big house, with a huge playroom. James and I would spend every day and night in it, using our Tinker toys and Legos, to build anything we could possibly imagine. We did everything together."

Double Dee choked as if holding back tears. Marie squeezed his hand.

"Then one particular night I remember all too well, we were sleeping when I was awoken by the sound of a smoke detector. I arose out of bed and saw black smoke filling my room. I could hear the sound of the fire engines sirens approaching from the distance."

Double paused for a second.

"Then, I remember seeing my father burst through the door. More smoke began to fill the room as my father ran over to me and briskly scooped me up before running back out of the room with me to get James from his room. And can remember hearing James screaming for help. When we reached James' door, my father…"

Double Dee struggled to get the words out of his mouth.

"My father attempted to open the door, but it was obstructed by debris on the other side. Then it happened. My father used all of his weight to bust the door down, and in doing so inadvertently caused a backdraft. The air from the outside of the room rushed in and…

Double Dee was now attempting to hold back tears, which were already running down his face.

"The air rushed in and gave the smoldering substances in James' room enough oxygen to combust. The explosion blew the whole wall of the room away, and sent my father and I careening backwards. The hot gases that poured out of the room during the explosion caused irreversible damage to me and my father. My father suffered a rather large third degree burn on his arm. He still has the scar from the incident. As for me…"

Double Dee paused for a minute and looked into Marie's eyes. She was holding back tears of her own.

"This is what I am left with after that horrible night." said Double Dee as he placed his hands on the side of his hat. He carefully, but slowly lifted it off of his head. Underneath his hat he still retained his thick black hair on the right side of his head. However, on the left side of the crown of his head, there was an irregularly shaped scar that passed over the top of his head, and turned down slightly towards his ear around his temple. The area around the scar was punctuated by many third degree burn scars. Marie stared sadly at Double Dee.

"I flew out my father's arms during the explosion. Whatever object it may be that I hit split my head open and caused this scar that you see on my head. The burns were caused by the sheer heat of the flames."

Marie sat silently listening closely to Double Dees story.

"And James." said Double Dee, as he couldn't hold back the tears any longer.

"While my father and I are cursed with living with these reminders of that night, that is nothing in comparison to the fate that James suffered."

"Double Dee…." whispered Marie, she had her hand over her mouth and was trying to hold back tears of her own.

"After James passed and we lost everything we owned in the fire, we moved into the house that we live in now. After the tragedy, my family has not spoken of it since. My father and mother deal with it by spending hours immersed in work, so much so that I hardly ever see them."

Double Dee held up his hat.

"This was James' hat. He would wear it all of the time in the winter when we used to go outside and play in the snow." said Double Dee.

"Double Dee, I am so sorry, I really had no idea." said Marie.

"Marie, don't be sorry, I am glad I was able to tell you. I have never spoken of the incident since, and it feels great to get it off of my chest."

Double Dee looked at Marie.

"I know I look like a monster without my hat on, I am so sorry for exposing that part of myself to you. You must be repulsed." said Double Dee.

"Double Dee." said Marie, as she grabbed his face and looking into his eyes. "You have to be the biggest moron in the world if you think I care about those scars. I like you because you're Double Dee. I am absolutely not repulsed."

Double Dee smiled and placed the hat back onto his head. The couple stared at the television screen for a few seconds. Marie leaned over towards Double Dee and wound up leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry for darkening the night up with my questioning." said Marie.

"Do not be sorry Marie. I am glad I was able to tell you about James, I have not even told Ed or Eddy about the tragedy."

Marie waited a few seconds and then leaned up and kissed Double Dee on the cheek.

"I am glad you did Double Dee." said Marie.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes, until something hanging on the wall caught Double Dees eye. It was a highly detailed sketch drawing of a dog. The dog looked as if it was a German Shepherd or a similar looking breed. The dog was drawn as if it were looking slightly to the left of the portrait and looked as if it was panting.

"That is a fantastic drawing." said Double Dee pointing to the drawing on the wall. "Who is the artist?"

"You probably won't believe me." said Marie. "But I drew it."

Double Dee had seen the drawings that Marie had produced in her sketchbook, but decided to act as if he was surprised at Marie's talent to cover up the fact that he had viewed her book without her permission

"You did!" said Double Dee. "Marie, I never knew you to be an artist!"

Marie snickered as she looked into Double Dee's face.

"Come on cutie," said Marie, "You think I'm dumb? I know you couldn't resist looking at my sketchbook."

Marie giggled as Double Dee's face turned bright red out of embarrassment.

"It's okay, I forgive you!" said Marie playfully. She snickered for a few moments before continuing her conversation.

"Art is one of my favorite hobbies." said Marie. "Although, I'm not very talented."

"Marie, you are a fool to even think that you are not talented!" said Double Dee as he rose off of the couch to observe the sketch more closely. On the bottom edge of the painting, Marie had signed her name, Annemarie E. Kanker, and had written the word "Dougie" directly next to her signature.

"Dougie?" said Double Dee. "Is that the title?"

"Yes." said Marie, "Dougie was our dog when we lived back in the city. I loved him so much. Me and my sisters used to run and play with him out in the park for hours. He would even sleep with me in my bed at night. When I was about 8 we ran into serious trouble with money, even more so than we already were, and my mother couldn't support a dog as well as three kids. We had to give him away."

"That must have been really hard to have to do." said Double Dee.

"Yes it was." said Marie. "It was hard on all of us."

Marie stood up off of the couch. "Would you like to see a real picture of Dougie?"

"I would be honored." said Double Dee.

"Come on up to the bedroom." said Marie as she began walking up the stairs, motioning him to follow her. She quickly turned around and leaned into his face as if she was angry.

"And don't try putting any of those sweet moves on me up there!" she yelled right into his face with a seemingly angry expression. Double Dee was taken a back for a second until Marie smiled and kissed him on the cheek before running up the stairs. He definitely had to get used to her sense of humor.

When they reached the Kankers room, Marie flipped on the light switch, which caused two table lamps to illuminate in the corners of the room. Double Dee sat down on the bed, as Marie began going through boxes that were in the closet. She eventually pulled out a small, ordinarily sized picture and showed it to Double Dee.

In the picture there were three little girls. One of the girls, who appeared to be around 6 years old, stood on the right, smiling. She had ginger curls that hung to about shoulder length and was wearing a red dress. To her right, an even smaller girl sat, appearing as if she was laughing. This particular little girl had straight black hair that was around shoulder length and was wearing a pink frilly dress. Next to her laying on the floor, was a brown German Sheppard. The little girl had her arms around the dog's body as if she was hugging it. Lastly, to the dogs right was an even smaller girl, with short thin blond hair that was quite curly. The toddler had a prominent overbite, and wore a green dress. She did not appear to be too happy to have her picture taken, as she was crying her little eyes out. In her right hand, she cradled a small doll that Double Dee noticed was very similar to Sarah's doll.

"A family photo." said Marie as she pointed to the dog.

"That's Dougie." she said. She then pointed to the little girl that was hugging the dog.

"This is me." said Marie after which she glided her finger over the page to the girl with the red hair.

"This is Lee." Lastly she pointed at the smallest girl of the bunch.

"And this is May, crying as usual."

"I have always wondered, out of curiosity what your natural hair color was." said Double Dee. "This photograph has brought an end to my curiosity."

"It's black." said Marie. "I really have no idea now why I even began dying it blue in the first place. I guess I just wanted the attention that having blue hair caused. I'm not a good looking girl, so I needed something to make me stand out."

"Marie," said Double Dee as he put his hand on her leg. He grabbed a makeup mirror that happened to be sitting on the table next to the bed. "Look at yourself." he said as Marie looked into the mirror. "Do you know what I see?" said Double Dee.

"The wicked witch of the west." said Marie sarcastically.

"No, I see Annemarie Kanker, the most beautiful girl on planet earth inside and out." replied Double Dee.

Marie looked at Double Dee and began smiling.

"For being such a nervous nelly around girls, you sure know how to be sweet." said Marie as she chuckled and kissed him on the cheek. She embraced Double Dee afterwards with a tight hug. Double Dee put his arms around her and returned the embrace.

"I guess it's just a talent." He said jokingly as he blushed "like your art."

"Hey!" yelled Marie a she pulled away. "That reminds me, hold on a second." Marie went into the closet and grabbed a large canvas. She placed it down on the bed, and then opened a drawer on the night stand and pulled out a pencil.

"Okay she said, now just stay still for about an hour. You can still talk if you want." She said while smiling. She began using the pencil to draw on the canvas "What are you going to draw?" asked Double Dee.

"Hmm something for you, just stay still." said Marie.

"Okay," said Double Dee as he chuckled.

"Oh I almost forgot. Stand up and take off all of your clothes." said Marie.

"What!" yelled Double Dee.

"Didn't you ever see the Titanic? I have to draw you naked for the moment to be romantic." said Marie giggling.

Double Dee, being as naïve as he was, began nervously taking off his shirt.

"Double Dee, put your shirt back on, I was just messing." She said as she giggled once more. Double Dee, embarrassed, quickly put his shirt back down.

"Silly me." He said while blushing and laughing.

Double Dee and Marie sat for around and hour conversing while Marie continued working on her drawing, never letting Double Dee see what it was that she was drawing. When she had finally finished, she dug once more through her closet and found wrapping paper that appeared to have already been torn off of a gift. She used the remaining pieces in addition to tape to cover up the drawing.

"Okay Double Dee." said Marie. "This is for you to keep, but you can't open it until you get home, okay." Marie handed Double Dee the canvas, wrapped in the red wrapping paper. "I hope you like it" said Marie.

"I am very sure I will, Marie" said Double Dee as he looked into Marie's eyes, which were directly across from his face. At that moment, he made a realization; he had never seen Marie's right eye as it had always been covered up by her blue hair. Marie sensed Double Dee staring at the point where he other eye would be and chimed in.

"I know what you're thinking." said Marie. "You're wondering why I keep this eye covered aren't you?"

Double Dee was shocked. It was as if Marie was psychic and knew exactly what he was thinking at the moment.

"It is really embarrassing." said Marie.

Before Double Dee had a chance to reply, Marie, closed her eyes and brushed the blue bangs away from her right eye. When she reopened them, Double Dee saw her emerald green left eye looking directly at him, but her equally green right eye was pointing in the direction of the wall.

"My mom could have gotten it fixed when I was little if we had insurance, before it got this bad." She said. "It's called exotropia, but most people call it a lazy eye. I can't move my right eye at all and because it is stuck in that position, it causes me to have double vision if I don't close it or cover it up. So basically, I use my hair to hide the eye itself, and to help me out with my vision."

Double Dee continued staring at Marie's eyes

"Still think I'm the most beautiful girl in the world?" said Marie in a sarcastic tone as she looked down and away from Double Dee. Double Dee grabbed her face and guided it so that she was looking back at him, her hair still brushed out of the way of her right eye.

"Marie, I without a doubt still think you are the most beautiful girl in the world." said Double Dee.

Marie smiled at him. She began moving her face closer to his, while staring into his eyes. Double Dee began to blush. Marie came closer and closer to him, until her lips were an inch away from his. Double Dee took action, and decided to be brave and go for it. He inched further in and touched his lips to Maries. He felt as if a bolt of lightning flew from his lips throughout his whole body. After about five seconds, Marie began opening her mouth. Double Dee without hesitation began following her lead. Double Dee was now French kissing for the first time, and he felt extremely nervous while doing so, even though he did enjoy it. The warmth of Maries toungue sent shivers throughout his body, and caused him to become excited in a different kind of way. Marie moved closer to him and draped her legs over his lap, at which point she discovered his "excitement". While still kissing him she chuckled and then paused for a second, pulling away from his mouth.

"I see you're really enjoying this." she said in a whisper. Double Dee became embarrassed and blushed heavily. Marie took notice and giggled once again before making contact with his lips for a second time.. After a few more minutes of kissing, there was a sound from downstairs as if the front door to the trailer had opened. The two froze where they were at the sound. Marie quickly got up off of Double Dees lap and looked out the window of the trailer. A large brown 80's pickup truck with busted taillights that looked like it had been in a few accidents was driving briskly out of the trailer park. Marie recognized it as Rod's truck.

"Oh shit May's home." said Marie, as she quickly ran over to Double Dee. Double Dee was panicking.

"Marie! Are you home!" yelled May from downstairs.

"I'll be down in a minute May!" she yelled downstairs. She turned to Double Dee.

"You can go out the window." She said.

"Out the window?" he said.

"Yeah, just hang out and drop, it's not that far I promise sweety." Marie said, as she was forcing the canvas that she had drawn on earlier into Double Dees hand. Double Dee made his way to the window and began climbing out feet first. Marie ran over before Double Dee hung down and kissed him on the lips for about 10 seconds.

"I'm sorry about this, we can hang out again Tuesday night, I have a great spot to meet, I'll tell you about it later." Marie said after she was done.

"Okay Marie, good night." said Double Dee.

"Good night Double Dee." said Marie, before she kissed him one last time. After the kiss, Double Dee dropped down from the window and began sneaking around the trailer to begin his walk home.

The walk home seemed to go rather quickly, as Double Dee was flying as high as a kite on the drug known as love. He was glad that he could finally confide in someone and get the demons he had had from the past off of his chest. As he walked home, he realized that Marie was a girl who too had had a rough past, and needed a trusting person to express her feelings to as well. Double Dee was glad that he could be that person. On a brighter note, he had an amazing time talking to Marie about the brighter things in life while she was drawing her secret picture that he couldn't wait to see. Last but not least, he had had his first "real deal" kiss with a girl, and enjoyed every minute of it. Double Dee began to realize that he and Maries relationship was being taken to the next level, both on a physical level, and on a trusting, intimate social level.

When Double Dee had finally made it home, he opened the front door to his house, and walked up the stairs to his bedroom. After reaching his bedroom, he placed the still wrapped canvas on his nightstand, and proceeded to get changed into his pajamas. Before making his bed, he decided it was time to finally remove the wrapping paper from the canvas. He did so, and was amazed by what was underneath.

On the canvas was a picture of Double Dee, highly detailed at that, from his shoulders up. He was staring down to his left at Maries face, who was leaning on his shoulder staring dreamily up at him. Double Dee was astonished that Marie could draw her own self portrait in such detail without even looking at a reference photo or a mirror. He could not stop staring at the drawing, and the more and more he looked at it, the more and more he wanted to actually be sitting next to Marie, staring into her eyes.

What really made Double Dee's night was the caption that Marie had placed at the bottom of the canvas below the picture. Double Dee must have read the words a dozen times before he climbed into his bed and shut off the lights. As was overtaken by sleep, he began hearing Marie's voice repeat the words that he saw inscribed onto the canvas:

I LOVE YOU DOUBLE DEE!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

It was Sunday morning, and a beautiful day. Although it was the middle of February, the temperature peaked at 70 degrees, unusual for the season, but that didn't bother any of the children of the cul-de-sac. Double Dee had no chores this morning and was able to join his friends earlier than usual. In contrast, Marie had to do the weeks wash as well as other chores around the trailer, so Double Dee was slightly disappointed that he couldn't see his blue-haired beauty. Nevertheless, the warm weather coupled with the outstanding time he had with Marie last night made him feel like he could take on the world. As he walked out of his house into the comfortable air, he couldn't help but think of the words that Marie had written on the bottom of the canvas. He began to feel as if he should return those words back to her. Could he actually be in love?

The rest of the children were in the center of the cul-de-sac. There were two skate boards and a makeshift quarter pipe made out of wood. Kevin was riding one of the skateboards, while Nazz watched him. Kevin was quite the avid skateboarder, performing kick flips and shove it's without any problem. The other kids were not as talented; Rolf had already flipped off of the other skateboard, scraping his arm, Ed couldn't figure out how to ride it, and as for Eddy, he was becoming frustrated trying to Ollie.

"How are you supposed to get this thing off the ground without grabbing it!" yelled Eddy, while jumping in the air, only for the board to remain on the ground.

"Rolf fails to understand how the magic rolling board works as well." said Rolf. "Perhaps the Double Dee Ed boy can find the solution."

"Dude!" yelled Kevin, as he ride down the half pipe and skid stopped over by where Eddy and Rolf were standing. "It's easy." Kevin kicked the edge of his board to make it flip up into his hand.

"Here's what you do." Kevin set his board down. "You jump at the same time as you kick your right foot down. Then when the board comes up, you just slide your front foot forward, and the board will level out. Watch me."

Kevin successfully performed the trick. Nazz clapped for him as she sat on the curb.

"Now you try Eddy." He said.

Eddy began stepping onto the skateboard just as Double Dee stepped into the street from his house to walk down to the center of the cul-de-sac. Eddy stood still for a few seconds, then moved his foot to the back of the board. After a slight hesitation, Eddy jumped and kicked the board down. The board successfully angled upward, albeit too far. His left leg slipped off of the board, causing it to assume a near vertical orientation. The force of gravity began forcing Eddy back to earth, but not before landing right on the edge of the skateboard that was sticking up in the air. The incident eventually ended with Eddy laying on the ground, holding his groin in pain while the rest of the boys began laughing.

"My goodness Eddy are you alright!" yelled Double Dee as he ran up to Eddy.

The rest of the boys continued laughing.

"I see that it is now acceptable to laugh at your friends pain and anguish?" said Double Dee.

The boys continued laughing. Double Dee had seen the incident from when he was walking down the street and had thought it was quite funny, even though Eddy could have been injured. He couldn't help but bust out laughing with all of the rest of the boys.

"All of you shut up!" yelled Eddy as he got up off of the ground. "It's this stupid boards fault! Double Dee, make with the science and show me how to do this!"

Double Dee observed Kevin performing his tricks for a few minutes and came up with a solution.

"Well Eddy, to fight the force of gravity, you simply need to use Newton's third law of motion. By applying a downward force to the tail of the skateboard, you create an equal, but opposite force in the vertical direction, causing the board to accelerate upward." Said Double Dee

"Right." said Eddy sarcastically, as he stepped onto the board to try again. The result was the same as last time, except Eddy actually landed on the board. However, he lost his balance and fell off of the board. The board slid out from under his feet and flew into Mr. Jenkins' yard, located between Ed and Eddy's house on the cul-de-sac. The board flew air bourn over the grass and eventually collided into the basement window of the house causing a loud shattering noise.

"RUN!" yelled Eddy and the rest of the boys. All of the boys including Nazz ran as fast as they could out of the middle of the cul-de-sac. They decided to relocate to the lane behind Kevin's house.

"Eddy, you really should go apologize to Mr. Jenkins and pay for the damage you have caused." said Double Dee.

"Pay? In your dreams sock head." said Eddy. "What he doesn't know what hurt him." said Eddy while grinning.

"Hey dork!" said Kevin. "That was your skateboard that went through the window wasn't it?"

Eddy froze up.

"If I recall, it has your name written on the trucks." said Kevin.

The rest of the kids began laughing at Eddy's expense. Eddy was furious.

"OOH Eddy, now Mr. Jenkins will tell your mom, and she'll tell your dad and then you'll be grounded." said Ed.

"Thanks Ed for pointing out the obvious!" yelled Eddy as he tugged on Ed's collar shaking him. "How could this day get any worse!" he yelled.

"Relax half-pint, we'll make your day better." said a familiar voice from behind. Eddy was not in the mood to see the person who uttered the voice.

The boys turned around and to their horror, saw all three Kanker sisters standing before them. Lee was standing in the middle of the lane with both of her hands on her hips, grinning. May was to her right, with her hands on her hips as well with a serious stare on her face. Marie leaned on the fence of the lane to Lees left, with her arms folded and blowing a pink bubble with her gum. She glanced over at Double Dee, giving a slight but noticeable smile. Double Dee smiled back. He knew what they had to do, they were going to have to play along to please both parties.

"Yo we're out of here, c'mon Nazz!" yelled Kevin as he grabbed Nazz and ran down the lane.

"Rolf must go help Nana tend to her soup. Good day to you Ed boys!" he said as he ran away briskly, hopping over the fence to cut through Eddy's yard.

"Good, just what we wanted." said Lee smiling and laughing.

"Lee Kanker, I am not in the mood!" said Eddy while grinding his teeth.

"I never said you had to be!" said Lee, as she walked toward Eddy.

"I've really been missing you, Big Ed." said May, as she walked towards Ed. "At least we finally have some time alone." She said batting her eyes at him. Ed looked extremely frightened.

"Ah cut the crap May, at least you got to see your man!" Marie walked up to Double Dee and slammed him against the fence. "I haven't seen my cutie pie for the whole weekend."

Double Dee had to hold back a laugh, as did Marie for they realized the irony of the statement.

"Hey, leave Double Dee alone!" yelled Eddy while he was being gripped by Lee from the collar of his shirt.

"Why should I shrimp!" Marie barked in Eddy's direction while still pinning Double Dee to the fence.

"Cause he's got a girlfriend, and I don't want YOU Kankers to spoil his chance with her." yelled Eddy.

A few things happened after Eddy's last statement. First and foremost, a huge wave of real jealousy flew through Maries veins, until she realized that Eddy had seen her lipstick stain and Double Dee had concocted a lie to make up for it. After the statement, Lee put Eddy down and May turned away from Ed to face him.

"What did you say?" said Lee.

"I said Double Dee has a girlfriend, so lay off Marie!" yelled Eddy.

Marie stood trying to figure out what to do. She knew she had to act as angry as possible, to stay in character. She thought about Double Dee being with other girls for the time being to create a pseudo jealousy.

"OOHHH Marie, you got dumped!" yelled May.

Marie continued to try to act as angry as possible. Her face turned red, and her acting even began to frighten Double Dee.

"You prick!" she yelled as she shoved Double Dee into the wall. Double Dee knew, or at least hoped that she was acting. "Who is she, where does she live so I can wring her neck!" she yelled while punching her fists together.

"Don't worry Marie, we'll just have to watch your man and follow him to her house. We'll deal with her Kanker style!" said Lee while laughing.

"That sounds just fine with me!" said Marie. "But for the time being, I have to show this girl that Double Dee is mine."

Marie grabbed Double Dee and began dragging him down the lane.

"No please! Eddy help!" yelled Double Dee as Marie dragged him down the lane and around the corner.

"Oh hell no!" yelled Eddy as he began running after them, when Lee tripped him.

"I'm not done with you yet, squirt!" she said while laughing, before throwing him over the fence into the yard behind the gates, jumping over herself after him to do who knows what.

"Okay Big Ed, now it's time for you and me!" said May, as she finished putting lipstick on using her folding pocket mirror.

"NOO!" yelled Ed as he ran down the lane.

"Come back love muffin, the fun has just begun!" yelled May as she began chasing him down the lane.

Meanwhile, Marie had stopped dragging Double Dee when they rounded the corner, for the couple didn't have to act anymore.

"Goodness Marie, I thought you were serious when your face was turning red like that. I was prepared for a real brutal assault." said Double Dee as they walked.

"Yeah, I'm good aren't I?" she said while chucking.

"So I suppose you girls needed a break from the laundry?" asked Double Dee

"Yeah, Lee decided she was done with it and was wondering what you boys were up to, so we showed up. I hope you don't mind." She said while smiling at Double Dee.

"I don't mind at all," said Double Dee, "But I can't help feeling terrible for poor Eddy and Ed."

"Honestly Double Dee, me too!" she said while laughing. She paused for a second.

"Listen," she said, "We probably only have about five minutes until mu sisters finish up with your friends. I really missed you today, I would really like to hang out tomorrow night, and I'll be able to get out alone. Meet me at the abandoned house on the cross street at about 7:30."

"I missed you too Marie." said Double Dee before realizing what Marie had just said. "Wait, THE abandoned house. The one where you forced us to marry you?"

"Yes, that's the one." said Marie. "Don't worry, I'll explain when we get there."

"Okay Marie, I put my trust in you." said Double Dee while smiling at her. She smiled back.

"Now we have to make it look good." said Marie as she pulled out a tube of lipstick and a mirror. Using the mirror, she quickly applied the lipstick, and walked over to Double Dee. She pecked him with kisses all around his face, producing various lipstick stains.

"There you go cutie." said Marie smiling.

"Thanks, I suppose." he said, while laughing

"Now for the real thing." said Marie.

Double Dee did not even have a chance to respond before Marie shoved his back to the fence and touched her lips to his. Once again she initiated an open mouth kiss, which Double Dee was used to by now. Double Dee was quite nervous; it was one thing to make out with a girl behind closed doors, but to be making out with Marie in the alley way was quite a calamity. Although it felt so wrong, Double Dee couldn't help feeling right. He embraced Marie and pulled her closer while he kissed her, while she placed her hands on the sides of his face. After a couple of minutes, Marie pulled away.

"I really missed you Double Dee." said Marie while smiling at him.

"I really missed you too Marie." replied Double Dee.

"I couldn't wait to do that again." she said as she giggled.

"I must admit, that was quite enjoyable." said Double Dee.

"I can tell." whispered Marie, as she pointed her finger down while giggling. Double Dee glanced down only to be greeted with the same problem as he had last night. Marie hugged him and whispered into his ear.

"Now I definitely know that I'm the first girl you ever kissed, if that's all it takes." she said while laughing. Double Dees face was bright red.

"We have to get back out there, I can hear Lee's voice." said Marie, "Ready to act again?" she asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be." said Double Dee.

"Good," said Marie as she leaned into Double Dees face. "I'll see you tomorrow night cutie, I can't wait!" Marie quickly leaned in and kissed him on the lips, and then gave him a hug. Double Dee returned the hug.

"Let's go." said Marie as she pulled Double Dee around the corner.

The couple turned the corner in character, to see Lee and May standing together, with Ed and Eddy standing waiting for Double Dee to return. Eddy appeared extremely furious, while Ed appeared indifferent, although they both were covered with lipstick stains.

"We're back!" said Marie as she walked up to her sisters, tossing Double Dee on the ground.

"What took you two love birds so long?" said Lee while she grinned at Marie.

"Sorry Lee, I was just showing hot-lips here how much more I can do for him than that loser bimbo that he has can."

"Hubba hubba." said Lee. All three of the sisters laughed.

"You Kankers are animals!" yelled Eddy.

"I love it when you call me names!" said Lee as she walked up to Eddy and pinched his cheeks. She turned around and motioned with her hands for her sisters to leave.

"C'mon girls." yelled Lee.

"See you later Big Ed." said May while giggling and walking away.

"I know you'll be thinking of me every time you're with her from now on after today cutie pie!" yelled Marie as she blew a kiss to Double Dee while walking away.

The sisters walked to the end of the lane and turned the corner. Just before they rounded it, Marie turned around and gave an inconspicuous smile and wink to Double Dee, who returned a smile.

"Geez, where'd they come from?" asked Eddy. He turned to Double Dee.

"Man, I'm so sorry dude, I was trying to save you, but I probably made it worse than it would have been if I kept my mouth shut. What did she do to you anyway?"

Double Dee tried to act as distant as possible.

"I'd rather not discuss." said Double Dee.

"Damn those Kankers!" yelled Eddy. "Now they're definitely going to be on our hides now that I opened my big mouth!"

"I feel so violated.." said Double Dee.

"Come on, lets all go to my place and wash up." said Eddy.

The boys began walking towards Eddy's house.

"This day definitely can't get any worse." said Eddy.

Just as he finished speaking, Eddy felt someone large grab his arm with a strong grip. He recognized the man grabbing him, as he had been grabbed like that before. He turned around to see a large hairy arm with a Timex watch strapped to it. He looked up into the man's face.

"Dad!" he said nervously. "What's up, did I do something wrong?"

Eddy's father began dragging him down the lane toward the gate to his yard. His father opened the gate and pulled Eddy through, slamming it shut behind him.

"I suppose, Eddy's father found out about the little skateboard incident." said Double Dee to Ed, who was still standing stupefied. Suddenly Ed yelled.

"GIRL GERMS! MUST WASH NOW!" as he began running down the lane. He hopped over the fence into his yard.

"Well, at least that's one incentive for Ed to bath!" said Double Dee to himself, as he walked all by his lonesome down the lane towards his house. He was glad that he got to see Marie, even if they had to pretend for most of the encounter. He did get to kiss her and enjoy the company of the real Marie for around five minutes, which is better than not seeing her at all. He could not wait until tomorrow night, when he could once again be alone with his beautiful blue-haired girl.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Time flew rather quickly for everyone on this Monday school day. In Double Dees case, time flew exceptionally quickly. There was an algebra test, which Double Dee easily aced; the same could not be said about Eddy or Ed, Eddy simply for lack of study, and Ed not being able to grasp the subject. The afternoon bell had just rung and all of the students were beginning to make their way home from school.

"This stinks!" yelled Eddy. "Who needs algebra anyway?"

"Algebra is actually a quite interesting and useful subject, Eddy." replied Double Dee. "I mean just this morning, I used it to…"

Double Dee was cut off by Eddy.

"Whatever sock head, now I have to deal with failing the test, as well as working off my damage to Mr. Jenkins window. I already got Ed's help mowing his lawn, wanna join us Double Dee?" said Eddy.

"On the contrary Eddy," said Double Dee. "I have other plans, I apologize for not being able to assist."

"Ohhh I get it." said Eddy, "Its Maryanne right?"

"Yes that's who it is." said Double Dee smiling. He was extremely thankful Eddy was satisfied with that excuse.

"So when are we gonna meet her?" said Eddy.

Double Dee froze at the last question. He knew he once again had to come up with something to clever to cover himself up. As he tried to think of something to say, Eddy chimed in once again.

"Oh I forgot, you probably don't want to bring her around me, seeing as how I'm so good lookin'." Eddy said with a grin.

"Ha ha very funny Eddy." said Double Dee. Feeling much more confident, he was able to come up with a reasonable explanation.

"For your information, Maryanne has very strict limitations set forth by her parents, and like myself, has plenty of chores and duties to accomplish around the house. Therefore, until she has free time, I must meet her at her house."

"I knew this girl had to have the same lame-o attitude as you." said Eddy jokingly.

The boys all reached the entrance to the cul-de-sac. Double Dee began to turn towards his house.

"Alright gentlemen, I shall see you tomorrow in school." said Double Dee as he began to walk up the path to his door.

"Alright sock head, go have fun while we do work." said Eddy sarcastically. "But Double Dee, don't have too much fun!" he said grinning.

"See ya later Double Dee!" yelled Ed

Double Dee waved to his friends and went into his house. He quickly dashed up to his bedroom, and began working on his homework. Finishing all of the homework in 20 minutes was no challenge to Double Dee. After he finished his homework, he began preparing himself for another evening alone with his Marie. He slipped on a green button down shirt, which he admitted looked good on him, as well as a pair of blue jeans. After applying a significant amount of cologne, he inspected himself in the mirror to be sure everything was perfect. By the time we was finished preparing himself, it was already twenty minutes to seven. Double Dee walked down the stairs. He decided to exit out the back door and cut through his yard, as to not be detected by anyone.

Double Dee had left his house earlier so that he would have time to walk down to the business district flower shop. He bought a bouquet of roses using the last of his allowance. After purchasing the roses, Double Dee walked down the cross street, attempting to be as stealth as possible, until he reached the front yard of the abandoned house. He was extremely curious why Marie would want to meet him at such an undesirable location. Nevertheless, he brought himself to walk through the dark front yard, and up to the front door.

The front door was cracked open, and inside, the foyer was pitch black. Double Dee pushed the door open slightly and began walking in.

"Hello!" he yelled.

He continued to walk deeper into the house, the little light that was coming from the street lights illuminating his steps.

"Marie!" he yelled.

Just then, the front door slammed behind Double Dee, cutting off all light into the house. The windows that would have let in light were covered by old drapes.

"Marie, is that you!" yelled Double Dee. A familiar soft voice began chanting.

"Edd and Marie, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" said the faint voice, which seemed to come from nowhere particular.

Double Dee could not see anything in the darkness and was surprised when Marie ran up to him and embraced him from behind, placing her head on his shoulder. Double Dee could smell that she was wearing Crankshaft #5.

"Guess who cutie pie?" said Marie.

"Hmmm, lets see…Marie?" Double Dee said jokingly.

"Correct" said Marie, "Now here's your prize."

Marie spun Double Dee around and embraced him as she touched her lips to his. Double Dee quickly placed his arms around her back. After about, ten seconds, Marie pulled away from him.

"How's my cutie doing this evening?" she said, her face close to his.

"I am doing great Marie, how about yourself." replied Double Dee. "I just wish I could see you."

"Hmmm. I can arrange that, follow me!" said Marie

Marie grabbed Double Dees arm and pulled him along the floor, Double Dee had no idea where he was going. Marie walked for a ways and then stopped. At that moment, a flood of light from the street entered the room as Marie opened the curtains that were covering the large window. The room was now illuminated enough for him to see where he was going. The foyer of the home was rather large, with a two story ceiling and a curved staircase leading up to the second floor balcony. He remembered it quite well from his previous visit.

"Come on cutie, let's go upstairs." said Marie.

Marie grabbed Double Dees hand and guided him up the curved staircase. They arrived on the second floor balcony and walked down the hallway to the end, where they reached a door. Marie opened the door, and the couple walked in.

The room was lit well, due to it being directly next to a street light and having a large window. Double Dee took a look around. The room had old deteriorated pink wall-paper. The room was completely empty, sans an old brown wardrobe

"I hope you like what I have done with the place." said Marie chuckling.

"It's quite charming," said Double Dee while he chuckled back at her.

"Sit down." said Marie as she pulled him down to the floor to sit on the blanket. Double Dee held the flowers he had out toward her.

"For the beautiful lady." Said Double Dee.

"Double Dee, they're beautiful," said Marie as she took the bouquet off of him. "Thank you so much."

"You're quite welcome," replied Double Dee. Double Dee paused before continuing.

"Marie," said Double Dee. "If you don't mind me asking, why have you chosen this as the location for us to meet?"

Marie paused for a few seconds before speaking once again.

"Well, I sort of have a personal connection with this house." She said while looking at Double Dee.

"What sort of personal connection?" Double Dee asked.

"Well, Double Dee, this room we are sitting in was my mother's room when she was a little girl." said Marie.

Double Dee was speechless. He had no idea that this house that had sat on the corner of his cul-de-sac once belonged to the Kanker family.

"Really?" said Double Dee curiously.

"Yes." said Marie. "All's that my mother has told me is that my great-grandfather somehow acquired an acre of land here in Peach Creek, and used it for farming. My grandfather inherited the land and had this house built on it. It was in this house that he raised his family, which consisted of my mother and her younger sister. Around the time that my mother was 9 years old, home development executives approached my grandfather, and convinced him to sell his land. The finances didn't work out, and the whole ordeal left my grandfather without his farm and jobless, while the executives executed stage 1 of the Peach Creek estates project, resulting in what is now the cul-de-sac you live on."

Double Dee was shocked at this story.

"My mother didn't ever tell me anything about what happened in her life after they lost the land. All's I know is that they were forced to move to an apartment in the city."

"That is truly as sad story," said Double Dee. "I don't even know him, but I feel terrible for your grandfather."

"Yeah," said Marie. "I love coming here. Even though it's old and shabby, it just feels like I should be living here. It's like the house I never had. This is usually where I go when May and Lee aren't around, just to relax and think about things. Don't get me wrong, we all come here a lot together too, as sort of a second home. In fact, I want to eventually, if I am able to, buy this house and fix it up when I'm older."

Marie put her hand on Double Dees.

"But right now I'm just glad I get to share my quiet time with the best and cutest boyfriend in the world."

Marie leaned her head on Double Dees shoulder, to which he responded by leaning his head on hers. They stayed like this for a few more minutes, until Marie asked a question that Double Dee dreaded.

"Double Dee, I wanted to ask, do you have a middle name?"

"Why did she have to ask that?" Double Dee thought to himself. Even though he was quite embarrassed, he knew he wanted to be completely honest with Marie.

"I do have a middle name Marie, but it's quite embarrassing." said Double Dee

"Oven Mitt, you don't know embarrassing until you have Kanker as a last name." said Marie while smiling. "Here's a little incentive for you to tell me."

Marie shoved Double Dee on the floor. She forced both his arms to his sides, and straddled her legs on top of him, trapping his arms under her knees.

"Marie what are you doing?" yelled Double Dee extremely distressed.

"Forcing you to tell me your middle name." she said calmly.

She then began tickling Double Dee, who was extremely ticklish. He writhed around while laughing, but as hard as he tried, he could not escape Marie's grasp.

"Give up yet Double Dee?" she said. Double Dee couldn't take it any longer.

"MARION! My middle name is Marion!" he yelled.

"See that wasn't so hard was it cutie?" said Marie. "That isn't a bad name at all, in fact, it was my grandfathers first name, what a coincidence."

Double Dee still recovering from being tickled, decided to play back with Marie.

"So" he said while he slid closer to her, regaining his composure. "What may yours be?"

"Eve." said Marie quickly.

"Annemarie Eve Kanker." said Double Dee. "I think that's a beautiful name."

"Yeah right," said Marie, "How could the last name Kanker be considered beautiful."

The couple chuckled at the last statement.

"By the way, pardon my curiosity, but what nationality does that surname come from?" asked Double Dee.

"It's a Dutch name." said Marie. "I did some research and found out that either comes from the word for super, or on the bad end, the word for cancer. What luck?"

Marie began giggling.

"I'm just glad it's not spelled with a C or that would be even worse."

She began laughing, Double Dee joined in. The couple sat staring out the window for a few minutes.

"Marie," said Double Dee. "Thank you for the drawing. I was completely stunned by the hard work and talent you demonstrated. I can tell that you truly love the visual arts."

"Your welcome Double Dee," said Marie while she blushed slightly, "I just hoped you liked it."

"You don't have to worry about that" said Double Dee as a he smiled at Marie, who smiled back at him. Marie turned her attention to window

"It's really a shame, but from here you can't see all of the stars in the sky." said Marie

"From this altitude, and with all of these lights causing pollution, I doubt we would be able to see anything but the brightest stars." replied Double Dee.

"Hmmm I'll prove you wrong brainy boy," Marie said playfully, "I have something to show you come on!"

Marie grabbed Double Dees hand and picked him up off of the floor. The couple ran out of the room to a door at the other end of the hallway. The door led to a short stairwell, which had another door at the top of it. Marie led Double Dee up the stairs and opened the door. To Double Dees surprise, the door led to a decent sized balcony, facing the backyard of the house. The balcony was completely bare, and was surrounded by a wrought iron railing.

It was at this point that Double Dee was able to get a good glimpse at Marie under the street light. She was wearing a pink blouse, as well as a pair of blue jeans. She looked completely stunning. Double Dee couldn't help but admire Marie's beauty.

"Wait till you see this." Marie walked over to the edge of the balcony and leaned over as far as she could, with the street light in sight. She carefully grabbed the bulb, and began loosening it until the light went out.

"Look up." said Marie.

Double Dee glanced up toward the night sky. To his surprise, turning out the street light filled the sky with stars, as all the light pollution on the balcony had gone away.

"Marie, this is beautiful!" said Double Dee.

"Isn't it?" she said. "I just love the night sky, I think it's the prettiest thing in the world."

"It truly is one of the most beautiful things nature has to offer." said Double Dee, as he sat down leaning against the wall of the house.

Marie walked over toward Double Dee and sat down next to him. As they gazed at the stars, Double Dee got up the nerve to put his arm around Marie's shoulder. She responded by moving closer to him and slightly in front. After a few minutes, Double Dee found himself embracing Marie from the back; she was sitting between his legs leaning backward with her head resting on his chest. After a few minutes, Marie spoke.

"Double Dee," said Marie.

"Yes Marie." He replied

"I am so glad that I met you, and I am so glad that we are here together like this." she said. "Over the past few days, you have made me the happiest girl in the world. You actually made me feel like I mattered, you showed me that somebody cares about me. I am so glad that I was able to meet a guy like you."

"Marie, you don't know how happy I am to call you my girlfriend, you are truly a special girl. Don't you ever doubt that you are a beautiful person I am so glad I got to know the real you." Replied Double Dee

Marie turned around and smiled up at Double Dee. In the heat of the moment, while looking into his eyes, she blurted out five powerful words.

"I love you Double Dee."

Marie was shocked that words came out of her mouth even though she meant them from the bottom of her heart. Double Dee was equally as shocked at first hearing the word love come from Marie's mouth. He had heard Marie tell him that she loved him numerous times before, but this is the first time that the real Marie Kanker had said the words, and Double Dee could tell that she meant them. Double Dee could only think of one thing to say back, and they were words that he truly meant to say as well.

"I love you too Marie." he said as he reached his hand down and stroked her hair.

Marie's face lit up at the statement. She quickly turned herself around and leaned her face up towards Double Dee. She leaned in and touched her lips to his. This time, it was a truly passionate kiss, the kind that seemed to last forever. Double Dee had never felt as happy as he did at this very moment. Although he did not want it to end, a few minutes later, Marie pulled away smiling as she did so. She retook her place leaning on Double Dees chest. Double Dee wrapped his arms around her once again. After a few minutes, Marie broke the silence.

"So how did you like my little trick when you first walked in?" She asked smiling.

"To be honest I thought you forgot to show up!" said Double Dee.

Marie gasped and turned around, giving Double Dee a playful slap on the arm.

"Double Dee, how could you think I would do such a thing?" she said laughing. "I was trying to make it romantic, like the first time we met. Remember we teased you with the K-I-S-S-I-N-G?"

"Yes I do remember quite well." said Double Dee. "Before you kidnapped me, cooked me dinner, forced me to clean your house, after which unreasonably kicked me out." He said playfully giggling.

"Ah you were just lucky you got the dinner!" said Marie as she laughed.

Double Dee knew that the last statement would make a great segue into the question he was about to ask her.

"Marie." said Double Dee. "I was wondering if you would perhaps like to come over my house tomorrow, around 6:00? My parents are home this whole week during the evenings, and I would really like to have you over for dinner and for you to meet them."

Double Dee sat nervously waiting for a response from Marie.

"I would love to go to your house for dinner Double Dee." said Marie. "And it's perfect, because tomorrow night May is working with my mom, and Lee just sits around the house anyway, so I would have no problem getting out of the house."

"Great!" said Double Dee, laughing off nervousness, he still had to get used to these kind of situations. "My mother is making Sheppard's pie, and an exquisite roast, have you ever had Sheppards pie before Marie?"

Marie sat rather looking rather melancholy before answering him.

"No," she said why looking down away from him. "We don't usually eat things like that. We are lucky if there is even cereal for us to eat in the morning before school. Usually, we just grab the free school breakfast and school lunch. As for dinner, we usually just boil frozen hotdogs, or sometimes fry burgers."

Double Dee could not believe that Marie and her sisters lived in such poverty stricken conditions. He now began to really become angry at himself for judging the Kankers from their outward actions. He truly had no idea what kind of life they really had.

"Marie, that's terrible." said Double Dee. He didn't know what else to say.

"Hey, but tomorrow night dinners on you, so I'll be waiting." said Marie in a playful tone, lightening the conversation. Double Dee laughed back with her.

Marie paused for a few seconds before turning around to Double Dee with a grin on her face.

"So," she clicked her tongue. "Double Dee, I think we did enough talking tonight so far don't you?" she tipped her head down, gazing up at Double Dee while leaning into his face.

"What do you mean Marie?" he asked nervously.

"I mean, it's time that we expressed our love in a more mmm. How to I say it, physical way." Marie pushed Double Dee down onto the balcony's surface; he was now laying on the ground. Double Dee stared up as Marie walked over to him. She stood over him, placing her legs on both sides of his hips. She kneeled down, so the she was on her knees and laid herself down over Double Dee, coming within an inch of his lips.

"Any last words?" she said playfully.

"Nope, just get it over with", Double Dee joked back nervously.

Marie leaned in and contacted her lips to Double Dee's. He once again found himself making out with Marie, this time on a balcony of an abandoned house, under the stars. He was now completely used to the idea of being this intimate with a girl, and really enjoyed what he was doing. Kissing Marie made Double Dee feel like a champion. As they locked lips, Double Dee placed his arms around Maries back, holding her tightly. After about ten minutes of kissing, Double Dee noticed that Marie began moving herself back and forth, grinding herself against him, which made him quite nervous. In addition to causing him slight anxiety, the action caused him pain as he and Marie were in jeans. Marie finally realized what she was doing and promptly stopped, slightly embarrassed. She pulled away from Double Dee for a split second.

"Sorry about that," she said, while blushing. "That was just the heat of the moment."

"Its fine Marie." said Double Dee smiling at her, although he was a little shaken up.

Marie pulled her left leg back over Double Dee, and now found herself laying next to him with her head on his chest, her left leg draped over him. Double Dee saw this opportunity to make a joke of his own.

"At least this time I'm not the only one who got caught in such an embarrassing state related to our natural reproductive urges." He said, thinking of how stupid he just sounded. Double Dee was terrible at making jokes, especially those pertaining to the subject being discussed at hand.

"You're so cute, when you loosen up and make jokes." said Marie while she chuckled.

As Double Dee laid on the balcony, gazing up at the night sky, with the girl of his dreams laying on his chest, he couldn't help but feel more alive than he ever did in his entire life. Unfortunately, time did not cease even for love, Double Dee had checked his cell phone and discovered that it was 10:30 at night, fifteen minutes before his curfew.

"My goodness." Said Double Dee, it's already 10:30, I don't want to leave, but I must be going soon."

"That late already?" asked Marie. "I better get home too before Lee throws a hissy fit."

Double Dee and Marie stood up, walking back down the stairs from the balcony. The couple walked down the hallway and descended the curved staircase.

"You know, now it makes perfect sense to me." said Double Dee. "You girls know this house like the back of your hand, that's how you were able to trap all of us using the secret passages. Very clever indeed I must say"

"That was the plan." said Marie as she laughed. Double Dee laughed back with her.

The couple reached the front door of the house, and walked out into the yard.

"Marie," said Double Dee, "I really do not believe any of our peers would still be outside at this time, so would you mind if I walked you home?"

"I can walk myself thank you!" snapped Marie as she began walking away from Double Dee.

Double Dee stood upset as if he was heartbroken until Marie snapped back around and ran into his arms, kissing him on the lips.

"Psych! Of course you can walk me home love." she said.

Double Dee stood chuckling at Maries joke. He could not believe his naivety had once again got the best of his emotions.

The couple walked down the cross street. As they reached the boundary of the old houses yard, Marie reached her hand over toward Double Dee, who was walking directly next to her, and grabbed his hand in a laced finger hold. Double Dee could not believe that he was actually walking through the neighborhood, holding Maries hand. Although he felt an adrenaline rush for the fear of being caught by his friends, he felt amazing. He was proud to be able to hold his girlfriends hand as they walked down the street.

Marie and Double Dee walked through the construction site, and finally reached the trailer park. They approached the Kankers trailer, walking very quietly as to not alert Lee.

"I had a great time with you tonight Double Dee." said Marie. "And thanks for these flowers, I'll tell Lee I picked them up at the store for the kitchen table." Marie snickered.

"I had a great time with you too Marie, I can't wait to see you tomorrow at dinner." said Double Dee.

"Me too," she replied.

Double Dee then did something he had never expected himself to do. He placed his hand on Maries face, and moved his own towards hers. He slowly touched his lips to hers, and kissed Marie for about 10 seconds. Marie placed her arms around Double Dees neck as they shared their kiss. Double Dee pulled his face away from hers and looked into her eyes.

"I love you Marie." He said for the second time that night. Marie smiled back at him.

"I love you too, Double Dee." she said in a light hearted voice. She quickly embraced him in a tight hug, which Double Dee returned. After she pulled away, she placed her foot on the step to her trailer.

"Good night Double Dee." she said smiling.

"Good night Marie." He replied while staring at her.

Marie opened the door and quickly darted inside to avoid suspicion, Double Dee walked away from the trailer smiling. As he walked away, he heard the voice of Lee from inside the trailer.

"Geez, Louis what took ya so long. There was no one her to wait on me!" she yelled

"Ah shut your trap Lee!" snapped Marie right back at her.

Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle as he walked out of the trailer park, Marie and Lee's conversation fading as the distance between he and the trailer grew. As he walked, he began day dreaming about the wonderful time he had just had with Marie. He was in love, and a girl was in love with him; he felt like he was on top of the world.

Double Dee was so lost in his thoughts that as he was passing the inlet to the lane, he managed to slam into someone who was emerging from the alleyway. He quickly came back to reality and realized that he had bumped into Eddy. Ed was standing directly behind him. Both were holding trash bags in their hands.

"Eddy!" Double Dee said startled, "what a surprise, what are you two doing out this late?"

"We're taking Mr. Jenkins' trash out to the curb for him." said Eddy. "For being an old man this guy sure has a lot of trash, this is our second trip."

Eddy paused for a second.

"I thought you went to Maryannes house?" said Eddy as he placed the bag on the curb.

"I did, I am on my way home now, seeing as it's almost 11:00 on a school night I might add." replied Double Dee.

"But Lemon Brook is that way." Eddy said while pointing in the opposite direction of where Double Dee was coming from.

Double Dee had no idea what to do. He could only think of one thing.

"Sorry gentlemen, I will explain later, I really must be going. Mother must be worried sick, I will see you tomorrow morning." Double Dee ran down the cross street toward his house.

"Something's up with Double Dee." said Eddy. "Something tells me he may be stretching the truth. What do you think Ed?"

"Double Dee is for sure acting weird Eddy." Said Ed as he drug his trash bag out right next to where Eddy's was sitting.

"We're gonna have to get to the bottom of this." said Eddy. "I get the feeling that something sneaky is going on with this Maryanne character, if that's really her name. On Friday, when my punishment is over, we'll round up Kevin and Rolf, form a steak out team and find out what's up with this so called girlfriend of his"

"Sounds like a plan Eddy!" yelled Ed as he put Eddy in a headlock.

"Now I just have to figure out how to get your pits to stop kickin!" yelled Eddy as he forced himself out of Eds grasp.

Back at his house, Double Dee was already tucked under the covers of his bed. He now knew that the greatest feeling in the world was being in love. And he felt even better knowing that he was in love with Marie Kanker, the girl of his dreams. He quickly drifted off to sleep, with the thoughts of Maries smiling face accompanying him to the world of dreams.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It was a brisk winter afternoon in Peach Creek. The time was 4:30, and all of the children were already home from school. The cul-de-sac was tranquil, and the only person outside at the time was Eddy, who was performing yard work for Mr. Jenkins. Sarah and Jimmy were in Ed's house, playing cops and robbers. Ed was in the basement, reading his comics even though he was told to do his homework. Kevin was sitting on his living room couch, with his arm around Nazz watching a movie. Double Dee was in his room, preparing himself for his girlfriend to come over for dinner with hisfamily. He was quite nervous, as he had never had a girl over to meet his parents before.

Marie must have been feeling three times the anxiety Double Dee was feeling. Marie stood in the Kankers bedroom in front of the wall mirror inspecting herself, having just got out of the shower, she was naked but wrapped in a white towel from her chest down. In front of her on the dresser were various beauty supplies and perfumes. A white plastic bag also sat on the dressers surface.

As she stared into the mirror, she couldn't help but wonder if she was really as beautiful as Double Dee said she was. Up until she entered her relationship with Double Dee, she had never felt beautiful or feminine, although she had always dreamed of such things. She hoped that Double Dees parents would like her; she didn't exactly look like the perfect match for Double Dee, and she was afraid of the first impression she would give them. She hoped they didn't already know of the Kankers reputation, and that she could start on a clean slate with them.

Marie began stroking her hair in her hand. She began to wonder what exactly came over her and made her dye her hair blue. In fact, she thought about how just plain stupid of an idea it was to dye it. Marie realized that all of her life, she had never felt like she was given any kind of positive attention, and that the blue hair and tough girl attitude was her way to gain it, whether it be positive or negative. Double Dee had helped her realize that she was more than what she appeared to be. Her rebellious and bullying nature was simply a product of a horrible childhood, and her attitude towards boys before she met Double Dee was purely based off of what her mother has told her. She didn't need the negative attention anymore, she had something much better; Double Dee's love.

With that thought, Marie opened up the plastic bag that was sitting on the dresser in front of her. Out of the bag, she pulled out a small box. The box was labeled L'Oreal Natural Black. Marie stared at the box for a few seconds, and then glanced at the in the mirror at herself. She opened the box and pulled out the instructions. After around twenty minutes of combing, rinsing, and conditioning, Marie turned her attention to her reflection once again. Her hair was combed backwards and to the side, her bad eye uncovered. After a few seconds styling, Marie stared intently at the mirror, and was quite enamored with what she saw. Staring back at her was a girl that she had not seen in around 3 years. The hair dye that she had bought earlier with the last of her money was the exact same color as her natural hair would be. Marie couldn't help but feel proud that she could once again see her real hair. She felt as if she was now free of the confines of the bully she previously was, she didn't feel afraid to show her true self anymore, and most of all, she could not wait to see Double Dees handsome face again. She just prayed that Double Dee would like her new hair.

After she was finished admiring her hair, she quickly began to get dressed. She slid on a pair of underwear and bra and then went through the closet in an attempt to find something nice to wear. After testing a few outfits in front of her in the mirror, she settled on a green, knee length dress. She placed the dress on the bed, and promptly found a pair of black legging in the dresser. They belonged to May, but the three sisters often shared each other's clothes, so she knew it would be no big deal if she wore them. She slipped the leggings on, and then slid the dress over her head. She grabbed one of Lee's brown belts out of the closet and placed it around her waist. After she was finished getting dressed, she placed a pair of black conservative high-heeled boots on her feet.

After making sure that everything was in order in the wardrobe department, Marie turned her attention to her hair. Her hair was still combed out of her face, exposing her right eye. After a few minutes of thinking, Marie decided to keep her usual sweep hair style, but complemented it with a red head band. Once she was finished with her hair, she began applying various forms of make-up, after which she checked herself in the mirror to be sure she looked okay. Marie replaced her usual black wristband with a golden bracelet, a gift she had received a few Christmas's ago. Lastly, she removed the rusty red nail polish from her fingernails and repainted them with a sparkling blue color.

Marie took a minute to look at herself in the mirror. She had never imagined the dolled up girl she saw in the mirror to be her. She felt beautiful, and was proud of the way she looked. For the first time in a long time, Marie was able to smile while looking at her own face in the mirror.

Marie really hoped that Double Dee would like the way that she looked. She couldn't stop thinking about being able to hug him, and being able look into his blue eyes once again. On the other hand, she was extremely nervous about meeting his parents. She knew it couldn't be all that bad, if Double Dee invited her to meet them. She just hoped that they liked her and welcomed her into their home.

Marie picked up her purse and placed a few of her accessories into it, just in case she needed to touch up. She exited the bedroom and began descending the stairs. She was relieved to find Lee sleeping on the couch in front of the TV. Now she didn't have to deal with any questioning about where she was going or why she looked the way she did. Marie briskly, yet quietly walked across the trailers floor and slowly opened the door. She walked out into the cold winter air.

The winter sun had already set, and the trailer park was barely lit, as there was only one street light for the whole lot. Marie stealthily walked out of the trailer park and through the construction site to the cross street. Marie found herself at the front door of 215 Rathink Avenue, Double Dees house. Her heart was pounding as she reached over to push the illuminated doorbell button. As she pressed the button, she heard the sound of the doorbell melody, specifically "Westiminster Chimes", resonate through Double Dees house. After what seemed like forever to Marie, the door knob began to shake, after which the door began opening with an audible squeak. Marie smiled as Double Dee appeared from behind the door, dressed in a blue button down shirt with a grey tie, as well as black dress pants. Double Dee opened the door fully and stared at Marie.

Double Dee was absolutely speechless when he saw Marie standing before him. He couldn't help but notice that she had changed her hair color and appearance as whole, and for a lack of a better term, she looked damn good. He literally checked her out from head to toe. He was quite sure that his jaw would have dropped to the floor if it wasn't attached to his face.

Marie took notice that Double Dee was literally speechless. Her smile began to go away, as she thought Double Dee was disappointed in her new look. She began to look towards the floor. Double Dee broke the silence.

"Hello Marie." He said smiling.

"Hello Double Dee." said Marie, blushing slightly.

"Marie, you look absolutely stunning this evening." He said rather nervously, Marie looked up into his eyes.

"Really." she said, smiling once again. "I didn't know if you would like my hair like this."

"Marie, I would love you even if you didn't have any hair." said Double Dee as he put his hand on her shoulder. "Although must say, that the natural color makes you look absolutely exquisite."

Marie smiled from ear to ear as she looked into Double Dees eyes.

"Thank you Double Dee, you are so sweet," she said, "You look very handsome yourself as well."

"Thank you Marie." said Double Dee. The two stared at each other until Double Dee heard the sound of two people walking on the hardwood floor into the living room behind him. He turned around to see a rather tall, thin man, as well as a small slender woman. Double Dee turned toward Marie.

"Marie, I would like to introduce you to my parents." said Double Dee, he turned back towards his parents. "Mother and father, this is my special friend, Marie."

"It is very nice to meet you Mr. and Ms…." Marie's sentence was finished by Double Dee.

"Svenski" said Double Dee.

Marie shook both of Double Dees parent's hands, both adults smiling at her as she smiled back.

"Shall we be sitting down for dinner now?" said Double Dee.

The group of four walked out into the dining room. Marie and Double Dee took their seats around the table. They sat next to each other each with a smile on their face, as they waited for Double Dee's mother to bring the roast out to the table.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Double Dee opened the door to his bedroom and flipped the light switch on. He held the door open for his girlfriend to enter before him.

"After you my dear." he said while motioning his arm.

Double Dee closed the door behind him, as Marie walked over toward his bed, which she sat down on.

"Double Dee, that dinner was amazing! That Sheppard's pie was to die for." said Marie.

"It is quite exquisite, isn't it?" said Double Dee as he rearranged some of his knick knacks on his dresser. Marie sat thinking for quite awhile before speaking her mind.

"I hope your parents liked me." said Marie.

"Don't you doubt that they did." said Double Dee. "My mother is just a naturally friendly person, and my father hardly ever speaks as much as he did tonight, so he must have liked talking to you" He said laughing, Marie chuckled back at him.

"So, what do your parents for a living that they are not home often?" asked Marie.

Double Dee walked over to Marie and sat down next to her.

"My mother is a urologist." he said, "She is on call, that's why she had to leave abruptly after dinner."

Double Dee paused.

"My father works for the government as an electrical engineer." He said. "He does a lot of traveling around the world to supervise and finalize projects. Sometimes he is gone for weeks."

"Now I see where you get your smarts from." said Marie jokingly, as she grabbed his hand. Double Dee looked into Maries eyes and smiled.

"So what do you see yourself doing career wise Double Dee?" asked Marie.

"Hmm. I am torn between a field in the biological sciences, or some kind of engineering field." replied Double Dee. "How about you Marie?"

"I was actually thinking about going to art school." replied Marie.

"That is great Marie, you certainly have the talent for it." replied Double Dee. "I really enjoyed your work that I have seen so far."

"Thanks Double Dee, I'm glad you did." said Marie.

The couple sat in silence for a few seconds. Marie glanced around Double Dee's room, and caught a glimpse of his pedal steel guitar.

"What's that?" asked Marie as she pointed at the instrument. Double Dee took notice.

"Oh that's nothing." said Double Dee.

"Double Dee, cut the crap." said Marie playfully. She smiled as she got up off of the bed and walked over toward the instrument. Double Dee, although respectful of girls, couldn't help but stare at Maries hips, swaying in her dress as she crossed the room.

"It looks like an instrument." she examined its label. "A pedal steel guitar to be exact."

Double Dee sat on his bed blushing.

"Play me a song sweetie. I love music" said Marie

"I would Marie, but I am not really that talented at instrumental music." replied Double Dee.

Marie ran over to the bed and kneeled down, looking up into Double Dees eyes, demonstrating what would commonly be called a "puppy dog face."

"Please, for the girl you love?" said Marie, looking up into his eyes.

Double Dee could not resist any longer. With a sigh, he got up off of his bed and walked over to the guitar. Marie sat down on his bed, crossing her legs and folding her hands on top of them. She was smiling. Double Dee pulled the guitar away from the wall, and pulled his desk chair up behind it. He placed the finger picks on his right hand fingers and picked up the slide with his left hand. He placed both his hands on the instrument and began playing. Maries eyes lit up as he played, after he finished, he placed the slide back on the top of the instrument, and removed the finger picks. Marie clapped her hands.

"Double Dee, that was amazing! You never told me you played an instrument." said Marie.

"I've been taking lessons since I was five. My parents love country music, my father plays the regular guitar himself. He decided to get me started on pedal steel, and he also started providing James with fiddle lessons. We used to play simple songs together, before James passed away." said Double Dee.

The couple was silent for a few seconds.

"You and James were really close weren't you?" said Marie.

"Yes we were." replied Double Dee. "I do really miss him Marie, still to this day and so do my parents."

"I don't blame you one bit." said Marie. "Even though they are literally a couple of pains in the neck most of the time, I can't imagine loosing Lee or May."

The two sat quietly for a few more seconds.

"Marie," said Double Dee. "We have a half day tomorrow at school for a teacher's professional development correct?"

"I believe we do." said Marie. "Why, what's up? "

"I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to a very personal place tomorrow afternoon. You will see what I mean when we get there." said Double Dee.

"Sure." said Marie in a serious tone, she could tell that whatever Double Dee was asking her to do really meant a lot to him.

"Okay, I'll bring my bike to school with me, and we can sneak right away undetected after the bell rings." said Double Dee.

"That sound great, I look forward to it." said Marie.

Marie sensed that Double Dee was slightly stressed and made an attempt to liven up the mood in the room. She got up off of the bed and ran over to him, kneeling down next to him.

"Double Dee, I love you, you are so amazing, can I have your autograph." she said playfully, acting like a groupie.

"Sure thing, anything for my fans." he said jokingly. He grabbed one of his spar inch school photographs from the desk behind him and promptly signed it. He handed the picture to Marie. On it read the words "To Annemarie E. Kanker, love Double Dee."

"Thank you so much cutie!" said Marie. She leaned up and gave Double Dee a big kiss on the cheek before returning to his bed. Marie placed the signed photograph in her pocket. "Play me another song Oven Mitt" she said

"Alright then." said Double Dee. "This next tune is called Panama Red"

Double Dee played the guitar for a few minutes, with Marie sitting on his bed watching him adoringly. After he was finished his song, he stood up and looked over into Maries eyes. He was instantly captivated once again by her beautiful smile. He began walking over to her, eventually sitting down next to her.

"Marie, you look so beautiful tonight." said Double Dee, for the first time with complete confidence and no nervousness. "The way you are wearing your hair tonight makes you look so pretty."

Maries face lit up, blushing slightly. Double Dee couldn't help but blush as well.

"I was a little nervous dying it," said Marie, "I didn't know if you would like me with my natural hair."

"Nonsense, remember what I said earlier, I would love you no matter what, because you are my Marie."

Marie smiled before chiming in with compliments of her own

"And as for you Double Dee." she said while wrapping her arms around his neck, staring into his eyes. "You have got to be the greatest, sweetest, most adorable, cutest and most loving boyfriend any girl can ask for."

Double Dee blushed at the last statement. Before either of them knew it, they found themselves engaged in a passionate kis. After about a minute, Marie pulled her lips slightly away from Double Dee's

"I would love to take this further, but lucky for you, your dad is home." Marie said jokingly.

Double Dee smiled at Marie's joke before pushing his lips back into hers for a few more minutes. Marie broke the kiss.

"It's getting late," said Marie, as she stood up. "May might be getting home early tonight, and who knows what Lee is doing, I probably should be going, even though I really don't want to."

"That's probably the best course of action," said Double Dee as he stood up next to her. "I wouldn't want you to get caught."

"Yeah, well on top of that, I'm going to have to explain the hair color and the way I'm dressed when I walk in the door." said Marie.

"That's going to be quite a challenge." said Double Dee.

"Yeah, I know." said Marie giggling, "But I'll figure it out, I'll just tell them I went to a club or something. They'll believe a story like that."

Double Dee and Marie giggled. Before he could finish, Marie quickly stifled his giggles with her lips. She placed her arms around Double Dees neck, and he placed his on her hips. She pulled her lips away, but kept her arms around his neck.

"Double Dee, thanks for having me over, you made me feel very welcome, and tell your mom again that I thought the food was great." said Marie.

"You are quite welcome Marie," replied Double Dee. "You can come over any time you want."

Marie kissed Double Dee once more for a few more seconds. After they were finished, they headed back down the stairs and arrived at the front door. Double Dee thought of something as they were waiting at the door.

"Marie, wait right here I'll be right back." said Double Dee as he ran into the kitchen. After a few minutes, Double Dee returned with a grocery bag and handed it to Marie.

"Complements of the chef!" said Double Dee smiling.

Marie peered into the bag and saw four plastic containers, each containing a serving of the Sheppard's pie they had had earlier that evening.

"I thought that since you like the food so much, you wouldn't mind enjoying it again. I have also packed enough for Lee and May, as well as your mother if she wanted to try some." said Double Dee.

"Thank you Double Dee!" Marie said as she smiled. "I'm definitely going to have more of this when I get home, and everyone else will love it too I'm sure of it."

Marie put the bag down on the floor and gave Double Dee a hug. She then pulled away from him and began opening the door. Double Dee walked out the door with her and closed it behind him.

"I guess it's time to say goodbye once again." said Marie.

"Sadly, it is." replied Double Dee.

Marie moved in close to his face.

"I love you so much Edward Svenski." she said in a whisper, centimeters away from his lips. Double Dee was surprised that she used his full name, although he loved the sound of the words coming out of her mouth.

"I love you too Annemarie Kanker." he replied, staring into his girlfriends beautiful eyes.

With a kiss, a hug, and a couple of good night wishes, Marie was on her way down the path to the street from Double Dees front door. He watched as she walked away from him, once again admiring the hip sway caused by her high heeled boots. Before she turned the corner to the cross street, Marie turned around and blew Double Dee a kiss; naturally he blew a kiss of his own back at her. Marie finally vanished as she rounded the wooden fence, prompting Double Dee to close the door to his house feeling like the happiest young man on two feet.

Marie had just turned the corner of the cross street, when she bumped into someone, the force from the collision combined with the fact that she was in heels knocked her on her butt. She looked up, and to her horror, saw the face of Ed. He was pushing a wheelbarrow full of yard waste. There was no doubt that he was once again helping Eddy clean out Mr. Jenkins yard.

Ed and Marie stared at each other for a few seconds, having no idea what to say. Finally Ed broke the silence.

"KANKER!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "EDDY, MARIE IS HE.."

Marie quickly stood up and covered his mouth with her hand.

"You big doofus." she whispered. "If you keep quiet, I until I get around that corner, I promise nothing will happen to you. And Ed, this conversation never happened."

Ed looked puzzled as Marie let go of his mouth and stumbled down the street as she was not used to running in heels. She turned the corner to the construction site just as Eddy ran up to Ed.

"What is it lumpy?" said Eddy.

"Shhhh." said Ed as he put his hand over Eddy's mouth. "She was never here, remember."

"You've been watching a little too much tv again Monobrow," said Eddy, attributing Eds statement to his absentmindedness, "Now are you gonna help me drag this bag out of here, it's giving me a hernia." said Eddy.

"Wilco Roger Eddy!" yelled Ed as he began walking over toward Eddy, who was trying desperately to move a large heavy bag.

It was then that Ed's eyes caught a glimpse of a familiar face on the ground. The signed photograph that Double Dee had given Marie earlier must have slipped out of her pocket when she was knocked over by Ed. The words that Double Dee had written in blue ink stuck out like a sore thumb against the background of the photo.

"Cool it's Double Dee!" said Ed under his breath, not paying attention to the writing. "Hey Eddy, look what I found!" he yelled while waving the picture in his hand.

"Not now Ed, we don't got time for your stupid monster cards again." said Eddy, too preoccupied with moving the bag that he simply did not care to see Ed's discovery. "Just help me with this damn bag!"

"Okie Dokie Eddy!" yelled Ed as he saluted with his hand towards Eddy. He placed the picture of Double Dee in his jacket pocket, out of sight and out of mind. He walked over to where Eddy was and grabbed the ties of the bag. With one fluid motion, he flung the bag down the lane through the air, and managed to land it perfectly on the curb.

"There you go lumpy, I think sanitation is your calling in life." Said Eddy laughing as he walked back down the lane toward Mr. Jenkins yard laughing

"What's sanitation?" asked Ed as the two reentered the yard through the wooden gates.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

As Double Dee changed into his pajamas and snuggled into his warm bed, feeling like a million bucks, Marie was walking home, shaken up by the events that had just transpired. She knew now that the secret would be out if Ed had told Eddy about their little meeting, if you would call it that. Eddy was too cunning when it came to matters like this not to suspect something. She was even surprised that Ed was even able to recognize her, as she appeared totally different than she usually did.

Maries encounter with Ed was not the only thing she had to worry about; she had to worry about explaining her hair, manner of dress, and the food she was carrying to her sisters. She approached her trailer, and peered into the window. Lee was sitting on the couch eating a bag of potato chips, while watching what appeared to be some kind of Ultimate Fighting exhibition match. There was no sign of May. Marie began to ponder what she would actually say. She knew that Lee would suspect something if she simply said that she went out to a club.

Just then she peered over to the clothes lines that were hanging outside the trailer. Hanging on the lines were a few of May's shirts, a few pairs of underwear, as well as a pair of jeans. But luckily for Marie, her black tank top and green pants were hanging on the line as well.

Marie ran over to the lines, and quickly tore the clothes down. She ran around the back of the trailer and began undoing the brown belt she was wearing. As she began pulling it from around her waist, she was greeted by the sound of a familiar voice from behind her.

"Marie?" said the voice of May.

Marie dropped the belt on the ground, the hair on the back of her neck stood up just as her stomach began feeling like it was full of butterflies. She was caught. She had nothing left to do but turn around and face her little sister. Marie turned around to see May staring at her holding a trash bag, walking it over to the trailer park dumpster, she appeared to have just walked out the back door

"Great, she finally takes out the trash herself, and it has to be right now!" Marie thought to herself

"Is that you Marie?" asked May again eyeing her up and down.

Marie sighed, "Yes May, it's me, got a problem with it!"

"You dyed your hair back to black?" said May as she dropped the trash bag on the ground and walked over to Marie. She touched her hair. "What gives!"

"None of your business Bucky!" barked Marie.

"Hey!" shouted May in her usual adenoidal, nasally voice, "Those are my leggings, and moms boots." May said pointing to her shoes "And you're all dolled up like a girly girl." May said teasingly while smiling and flapping her wrists up and down.

"Shut the hell up May." said Marie as she grabbed Mays arm.

"HEY LEE, COME LOO…" May began calling for Lee at the top of her lungs before Marie cut her off by placed her hand over her mouth and slamming her into the trailer wall.

"Listen May," said Marie, "if you can keep your big mouth shut and not tell Lee, I will tell you why I'm dressed the way I am. But you cannot tell Lee anything, got it wideload?"

May shook her head as if responding yes.

"Now, if you tell Lee, or anyone else what I am about to tell you, everyone within the confines of this 3 block radius will know that, one you still sleep with your teddy bear, and two that you wet the bed up until 4th grade. That should give you incentive to keep quiet."

Marie couldn't help but giggle inside her own mind. She had been around Double Dee so much it seemed that her pattern of speech began to mimic his. She had never thought she would say 'within the confines of a five block radius.'

Marie released May, who began rubbing her shoulder.

"Okay, okay, geez Marie, you didn't have to throw me around or insult me." said May.

"Okay, sit down on the step and listen, I'm putting complete trust in you as my sister right now May." said Marie.

"You got it, now just tell me what you gots to say." said May, sounding especially like a hillbilly during her last sentence.

"Okay," said Marie as she took of the green top she was wearing, she couldn't help but shiver as the cold winter air touched her skin.

"Well, remember a few days ago when our tv went out, and Lee got me to get Double Dee to fix it?" said Marie.

"Yeah," said May.

"Well, it all started after that." Marie continued.

Marie spent the next few minutes telling the whole entire story of her adventures with Double Dee over the last few days as she got changed into her usual clothes, explaining why her hair was a different color as well as her manner of dress in the process. She also explained why she was carrying all of the food she was in the grocery bag.

"So you kissed him, and he kissed you back?" said May.

"Yeah," said Marie, "It was great."

"Did you, do anything else?" asked May.

"What do you mean?" said Marie as she walked over and sat down on the back step next to her sister.

"You know, did any clothes come off." asked May, while she giggled.

"May, it's not like that." said Marie. "He makes me feel like I matter in life, and he makes me feel really special whenever I'm around him."

"I bet he does make you feel very special." said May giggling.

"Cut the crap May!" said Marie, now slightly angry, "I am in love with him!" She blurted out in a rage.

May sat shocked staring at Marie.

"In love?" asked May.

"Yes!" said Marie, Marie leaned into Maries face, "Head over heels in love to the point of not being able to do anything without thinking of those beautiful blue eyes on his handsome face!"

May sat staring at Marie.

"You can't be in love, remember what we agreed on Marie, men are only as good as the money they have." said May.

"I never agreed to that!" yelled Marie in a loud whisper. "I never wanted anything to do with that crap!"

Marie was slightly infuriated.

"Remember when I said I had the stomach flu and left while you two pulled Eddy's brother into his trailer and blew him like a couple of sluts last summer?"

Marie was right in her face, May looked like she was about to cry.

"I wasn't sick, I just didn't want anything to do with it. So I had to lie to my sisters in order not to be abused by a freakin adult. You're 13 years old May! He had a freaking beard! What were you thinking!"

Marie sat down on the step and looked over at May. May was trying as hard as she could to hold back tears.

"I'm sorry May, I should have never called you that." said Marie.

"It's true though," May was crying.

"No it's not May," said Marie, who moved over towards her sister. She put her arms around her and pulled her into a hug.

The two girls sat on the step, with Marie comforting her sister for a few more minutes.

"There were a lot of things that were done wrong in our lives May." said Marie, "none of us asked to be born, and even though we were, we didn't exactly have the perfect childhood."

May looked into Maries eyes.

"And I'm not talking about the money situation, that's uncontrollable and mom really tries to do the best she can. I'm talking about all of the other crap, with school and all. We didn't deserve it. I mean it is a shame that I never got my eye fixed, and that you never got braces, but that's the way it had to be" Marie continued. "But the worst part about it is that instead of encouraging us to fulfill our dreams, and eventually get out of this trailer park, Mom seems to be telling us to follow her example when it comes to men."

Marie paused for a second, before continuing.

"I know how horrible it feels to have a mother that barely notices you as an individual? Even though Daddy has always been there for me and Lee, it kind of hurts that I don't know my real father."

Marie glanced into Marie's face.

" Just think for a second May, how much does mom really know about us? Our favorite foods? How about any of our interests? Whether we come home with A's or F's on report card day, does it matter? No."

May stared at Marie as she continued.

"I don't want to be anything like that in my life. I don't want to be that bully, tom-boy girl who shows up just to make everyone's lives miserable. I want to be Marie." Marie paused to clear her throat, "I can tell Double Dee is different May, he is not out to use me, Jesus Christ, we were in his bedroom alone a few times, and he has never tried any funny business. He makes me feel like a person, he makes me feel girlish, and most of all he truly cares about me and loves me."

Marie looked down towards her feet as she finished her last statement. May touched her hand to Maries shoulder.

"You really do love him don't you Marie?" said May.

Marie shook her head up and down.

"You know what Marie," said May in a serious tone that Marie had never heard before in her life. "It's sad, but we sisters hang out together all the time, but I feel like I barely know anything about you or Lee."

Marie was shocked that May would make such an important point. There really was a lot that she didn't know about her sisters, especially Lee.

"Marie, we all feel the same inside. Even Lee, as much as she doesn't want to show it." said May.

"I learned that for myself," said Marie. "I guess the bullying and making others lives miserable is basically a way for us to get our minds off of our own miserable lives."

The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes before Marie broke the silence.

"Speaking of Lee, I think its best that we keep this to ourselves for now. I think Lee will over think it and blow it out of proportion. She'll wind up starting with Eddy over it, and with those two going at it, who knows what will happen. I will tell her eventually, but now is not the time. I told Double Dee not to tell anyone too, especially Eddy." said Marie, "Although I did bump into your Ed on the way back over here from Double Dees house." she said.

"Really?" Mays eyes lit up. "What did the big hunk say?"

"Nothing," said May, "But he almost blew my freaking cover. He was pushing a wheelbarrow full of old tree branches and wood. Eddy was somewhere further down the alleyway. I know this because he began to shout for him, just as I covered his mouth. I guess they were taking out their trash from yard work or something."

"What did you do?" asked May.

"I threatened him not to say a word and walked away." replied Marie.

May giggled with Marie. After a few minutes, May interjected.

"I can't believe he took that much time out of his schedule to make you Crankshaft #5! He really is a great guy." said May

"I know." said Marie, "It was the most romantic thing ever, I kissed him like I never kissed him before after he gave it to me.."

The two girls giggled.

"And tonight, he gave me this after I joked with him while he played his pedal steel guitar."

Marie walked over to the clothes line and reached into her coat pocket feeling around for her signed school picture of Double Dee. To her dismay, she felt nothing but empty pockets.

"Oh no!" said Marie, panicking.

"What!" yelled May, back to her usually nasally obnoxious voice.

"I lost the signed picture that Double Dee gave me!" yelled Marie as she went through her pockets again.

"Relax Marie, you probably left it in his room." said May

"I hope so," said Marie as she sat back down on the step, slightly disappointed. "There's really nothing I can do about it anyway."

There was a pause before Marie continued.

"Listen May, can you somehow cover for me tomorrow after school, Double Dee wants me to visit somewhere very important to him, and I really don't want to miss it."

"Sure Marie," said May, "I'll try to think of something."

"Thanks May." said Marie as she hugged her sister.

Marie had not told May of Double Dees personal information such as anything to do with his scars or James, as she wanted to respect her loves privacy. Nevertheless, she was glad that she was able to tell May as much as she did. That was another thing that May had been looking for throughout her life; another girl that she could talk to about things like this. She had always wanted a sisterly bond with another woman, and tonight she finally planted the seed for such a bond. She had begun her journey to try to become closer with her sister. Feeling comfortable around May, Marie began to try to lighten the mood up between them.

"So May, since I can trust you I guess I can tell you a little secret about what we did." said Marie giggling.

The two girls sat giggling as Marie shared her stories about her first real kisses, as well as dealing with the 'reproductive urge incidents' as Double Dee called them. Their laughing eventually prompted the back door to fling open.

"What gives!" yelled Lee. "I'm trying to watch infomercials in there and you two are out here lollygagging on the step while you could be waiting on me hand and foot!"

"In your dreams queen bitch!" said Marie as she stood up and walked past Lee laughing.

"Don't test me Marie." said Lee. "Come on May, get in the trailer, you're letting all of the cold air in."

May and Marie walked into the trailer and into the living room. Marie plopped herself down on the couch, laying her body along the whole length of it, leaving no room for Lee.

"Hey dead eye, get out of my chair will ya!" yelled Lee.

"You had it all day!" said Marie, "Why don't you give that bubble butt of yours some exercise and grab me some Dr. Pepper."

"That's it!" yelled Lee as she jumped on top of Marie. Lee began slapping Marie, and Marie returned fire with some slaps of her own. The scuffle eventually led to Lee grabbing Marie's hair and attempting to pull it. That action prompted curiosity from Lee, who stopped in her tracks. She stared at the tuft of black hair that she held in her hand, instead of the usual blue color. After taking a few seconds to absorb the sight of the black hair, she looked down at Marie.

"What the hell happened to your hair?" Lee questioned. Marie quickly came up with an excuse.

"Stupid May bought the wrong stuff. She was supposed to buy blue dye, but bought black instead." said Marie. May, had overheard the fib while standing in the kitchen pouring a glass of soda. Being the absent minded person she was, she leaned into her head around the wall and yelled to her sisters.

"Hey don't blame me, you damn well know it wa…." As she came to the middle of her sentence, Marie who was now standing up behindLee, made a motion with her hand like a knife cutting her throat, May caught on to the cue and finished her sentence accordingly.

"was your stupid fault for not reading the package!" said May

"I have to agree Marie, you should never trust May with anything to do with beauty. Can't you tell?" Lee began laughing

"Shut up Lee," said May as she walked back into the living room, setting her glass down on the table. "you're just jealous because I'm prettier than you." May struck a pose, placing her right hand on her ear, while placing her left hand on her hip while relaxing her pelvis to the right side.

"Will both of you can it!" yelled Marie, "I'm trying to watch tv!"

Marie sat up on the couch and leaned on the arm rest, May walked over and sat down next to her. She picked up the bag of chips that Lee was eating earlier and began snacking herself. Lee then sat down next to May, leaning on the opposite armrest.

As Marie sat on the couch annoyed at the crunching sound May was making as she chewed the chips, she couldn't but think about where Double Dee could possibly be taking her tomorrow. Wherever it was, she put her total moral and emotional support behind him. For the rest of the night, as her sisters were lost in the television, and even as they all crawled into their bed, the only thing on Marie Kankers mind was her Double Dee.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

It was almost the end of last period at Peach Creek junior high, and on this particular day, all of the denizens of the cul-de-sac had just finished gym class. It was time for the winter fitness test, and much to Double Dees chagrin, it was the day all of the students were to perform the rope climb. Naturally, Double Dee had only reached an eighth of the way up the rope before his muscles gave way. Eddy, even though he boasted about his strength, was only able to make it slightly further than Double Dee. Plank, of course failed the test, as he was not even able to make it a single inch off of the ground. The rest of the kids performed moderately well, however, Ed was the only person able to successfully climb all the way up the rope, with Eddy promising him a cup of gravy would be waiting for him at the top.

At this time, all of the boys were piling into the locker room to get changed back into their ordinary attire. Eddy, Kevin and Ed were the first to walk in to the locker

"Did you see how fast Ed flew up that rope?" said Eddy while laughing.

"But Eddy, you promised gravy would be up there." said Ed disappointingly.

"Yeah, but I also got your picture in the school newspaper. Apparently no one has been able to climb that stupid rope in 10 years." replied Eddy.

"Don't laugh too hard Eddy." Said Kevin, "Just remember how last year, you got halfway up and then slid down like an idiot. Your hands were mummified for a week!"

All of the boys began laughing at Eddy, who simply groaned as they did so. Just then Double Dee walked in through the door.

This was the first time in a few days that the Eds were in the same room and able to speak with Double Dee. He had not been around outside all of the previous days because he was with Marie, and that combined with Eddy's servitude to Mr. Jenkins, the two have not spoken very much for the last few days.

"Good afternoon gentlemen." said Double Dee as he waved to his friends.

"Hey sock head, how's life been treating ya?" said Eddy.

"Great, I am glad you asked Eddy, I apologize dearly for not making time for you two over the past few days. Please forgive me as I have been very busy." said Double Dee as he quickly took of his gym shirt and shorts, and neatly folded them before placing them in his gym locker. He quickly threw his ordinary clothes on and closed his locker.

"Yeah, I'm sure you've been getting busy." yelled Kevin, as he began laughing at his own joke, Eddy and Ed joined in on the fun.

Double Dee forced a chuckle while standing blushing, slightly embarrassed at his last statement. Just then, Rolf entered the locker room.

"What is with all of the merriment. Something I missed, yes?" said Rolf, with his usual thick accent.

"We were just busting Double Dees chops again." said Kevin as he finished laughing.

"Ah, Double Dee the Ed boy who is smitten with the female." replied Rolf smiling

Double Dee closed his locker. He had to get out of the situation somehow, as he promised to meet Marie behind the school directly after the bell, which had just rung.

"Friends, as much as I would love to stay and chat, I really must be getting home. Mother has asked me to help her resort the linens, as well as repair the curtains. I will see you sometime later. Goodbye friends." yelled Double Dee as he ran out the door.

"See ya Double Dee," said all of the boys simultaneously, although Double Dee had already ran out the door by the time they were able to utter the last statement. As soon as the door closed, Kevin began speaking.

"Dude, my mans been acting weird these last few days, a little too weird." said Kevin.

"You took the words right out of my mouth man." said Eddy, "Me and Ed were just talking about that the other night."

"What happened?" said Kevin.

"We caught Double Dee coming from the direction of the construction site all dressed the hell up and reeking of cologne." said Eddy. "He claimed that he was coming back from his girl friend's house. Now keep in mind he said that she lived in Lemon Brook. Then why was he coming from that direction?"

"Good point, but he could have been making a stop from somewhere else." said Kevin.

"Unlikely, he was way too jumpy, I know the guy, he's hiding something." said Eddy.

"Brainy Ed boy is now snake in the grass Ed boy? Rolf is confused." said Rolf.

"Listen," said Eddy as he formed a huddle with he and his three friends, "after tonight, my punishment is over. We'll form up a steak-out team, and track Double Dees every move. We'll find out the truth about this Maryanne of his, if she even exists."

"Righteous!" yelled Kevin as he placed his hand in the middle of the huddle.

"Rolf wishes to expose the lies as well!" said Rolf as he placed his hand on top of Kevins.

"Let's do it!" said Eddy, while joining in.

"Gravy!" said Ed, as he finally placed his hand in the middle.

As the boys all split up and finished changing, Eddy grinned as he came up with a fun idea.

"Wait boys, I have something that can make this ordeal a little more interesting?" said Eddy.

"And what is that?" replied Kevin.

"Let's put some money on this." said Eddy smiling.

"What are we talking." said Kevin.

"Well, what's your opinion on the matter?" asked Eddy as he smiled at Kevin.

"Alright, I'll play devil's advocate and bet that he does have a girlfriend." replied Kevin.

"Alright, perfect." said Eddy. "Ten dollars goes to whoever is right. I say he's lying, you say he's honest, deal?"

Eddy held out his hand to shake it.

"Deal." said Kevin as he shook Eddy's hand.

Upon declaring the deal, the boys ran out of the locker room to begin enjoying their half-day, afternoon freedom, while Eddy would spend the next few hours finishing up his last hours of servitude.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

While his friends were in the locker room attempting to figure out a way to get to the bottom of his strange behavior, Double Dee was in the process of unlocking the chain guarding his triple tandem bike. He had run as fast as he could and was the first one out of the school; there was literally no other student in sight.

Double Dee was finally able to unlock the bike and pull it free from the rack. He then hopped onto it and pedaled like he had never pedaled before around to the back of the school. He turned the corner to find himself in the middle of the staff parking lot. He stopped and waited a few minutes, looking all around him cautiously. He began to fear that Marie had forgotten about their little meeting.

Sure enough, a few seconds passed before Double Dee was hit on the back of the head by a balled up piece of paper. He turned around, and saw the face of Marie peering around the corner of the school smiling at him. He almost didn't recognize her without her blue hair.

"Gotchya!" said Marie as she walked over to Double Dee, smiling along the way. Double Dee returned a smile of his own.

"How's my Oven Mitt today?" asked Marie as she hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I am doing great Angel. How are you?" he asked, not even realizing he had just called Marie "Angel".

"I great, I'm just so glad that you finally loosened up and gave me a pet name, I've only got like a million for you." Marie said as she giggled. Double Dee couldn't help but giggle back with her.

"So this is your ride huh." said Marie.

"It's the best I could come up with on such short notice." said Double Dee. All's he could think about was that he looked like a huge fool sitting on a triple tandem bike.

"I've always wanted one of these Double Dee." said Marie, excited. "If me and my sisters knew about this last summer, we would have stolen it and had some fun messing with you guys! You would have never out ran us" said Marie laughing. She leaned into his ear as she mounted the bike on the seat behind him. "You are just lucky I love you." she said while snickering.

"I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have your love." said Double Dee as he smiled back at Marie. Marie gave him and equally warm smile.

"Alright Lance Armstrong," she said jokingly while chuckling. "Let's get out of here before we get busted."

Double Dee quickly pushed the bike off as he and Marie began pedaling out of the school parking lot. He emerged onto the main street of the town, and continued pedaling as they traveled down the road away from Peach Creek. Marie had no idea where they were even going, as it seemed like Double Dee was steering them into the middle of nowhere.

As the couple continued to ride, Marie broke the silence.

"May knows about us." said Marie

"What!" yelled Double Dee as he turned around to face her, nearly loosing control of the bike in the process. He promptly stopped the bike and pulled over to the side of the street.

"When I got home, I noticed my normal clothes were hanging on the line, so I grabbed them and tried to get changed out back before I went inside." said Marie. "May happened to be taking out the trash and caught me around the back of the house."

"What did she do?" said Double Dee as if he was quite panicked, his heart was racing.

"Don't worry Double Dee, our secret is safe trust me." said Marie. "Me and May sat down and, for the first time, actually had a nice sister-to-sister talk, about our lives and other things while I told her about us. She promised not to tell Lee yet because it could bring more trouble than we need right now. You know how Eddy and Lee get with things like this" she giggled under her breath.

Double trusted Marie with all of his heart, and he was glad to hear that he was able to sit down and have a close talk with her sister. His mind was now at ease.

"Thank goodness, I would have thought she would have told Lee." He said while smiling at her.

"She might have if I didn't sort of blackmail her." Marie said chuckling.

"That's my Marie." said Double Dee as he turned around and began pedaling once again. Marie laughed at his last statement.

Soon, the stores along the main street disappeared, and Double Dee turned off onto a different street, which was now lined with houses similar to those back in Peach Creek. After about a twenty minute ride, the wooden fences that lined the yards of the houses suddenly turned into a wrought iron gate. Double Dee pedaled slightly further, before jumping the curb and positioning his bike next to the gate.

"We're at our destination." said Double Dee.

Marie looked around as Double Dee began tying his bike up to the side of the gate. Within the gates, Marie could see nothing but hundreds of feet of grass punctuated with large, variably shaped obelisks of concrete. She then looked up at the sign that was located over the entrance gate. The sign read:

**NEW HOPE CEMETARY**

Marie now knew that she was in the town that Double Dee was born in, and she had a pretty good idea of why she was here. Double Dee had finished chaining the bike to the fence.

"Ready Marie?" asked Double Dee while he looked into her eyes, smiling.

"Lead the way cutie." replied Marie, in a slightly nervous tone.

As the couple passed through the gates to the cemetery, Double Dee reached over and grabbed Maries hand. The two were now walking holding hands once again in a laced finger hold. Although the overall mood was rather somber, both Double Dee and Marie couldn't help but feel ecstatic being able to walk in public declaring to everyone who sees that they were an item.

Double Dee led Marie to a medium sized gravestone. At its base, various flowers were planted, and next to them sat what appeared to be a violin case. Engraved on the stone was the following:

James Meriwether Svenski

November 12, 1998 – May 5, 2006

Marie placed her hand over her mouth. She had never even met James, yet she felt so sad at this very moment that he had passed away. She felt even worse for Double Dee, who missed his brother so much. She placed her hand on his shoulder as the couple stared at the stone for a few minutes.

"As you see, Marie" said Double Dee, "He managed to get quite the unusual middle name as well." He chuckled under his breath. Marie forced a laugh along with him. She didn't think that Double Dee could be as enthusiastic as he was at a moment like this.

"Greetings once again James" said Double Dee, leaning toward the stone. "This is my girlfriend Marie." said Double Dee as he put his arm around Marie's right shoulder. Marie reached up with her right hand, and placed it on his.

"I had told you about her previously, remember those three absolutely insane girls that I met in Peach Creek that lived in the trailer park?" Double Dee chuckled slightly, as Marie cracked a smile. Double Dee paused for a few seconds.

"She is the one that had the crush on me. I spent many days running from her and figuring out ways to avoid her until I learned more about the beautiful person she is. I know that when we used to talk, we used to say how gross and unsanitary the female gender was, but, I think you will understand now. After all you would be my age. I am truly in love with Marie."

Double Dee turned to Marie. As he looked up towards her eyes, he noticed that she was smiling, but tears were still running down her face. These were tears created by the combination of pure joy and love she had for Double Dee at this very moment, and the thoughts of the tragedy that the Svenski family had endured. Double Dee turned back toward the stone.

"I really wish you were here to meet her James, we still miss you so much." said Double Dee trying to hold back tears. "Nothing will ever suffice to fill the void that was left when you passed."

Double Dee sat down on the ground in front of the stone. Marie joined him sitting down directly next to him. As Double Dee continued to stare at the stone, Marie reached her arms around him and gave him a firm hug. Double Dee placed his arms around her as well.

The couple sat embracing each other for a few minutes until Double Dee broke the silence.

"I know it seemed highly unusual." said Double Dee. "But I feel comfortable being here next to this stone. It's seems extraordinarily odd to speak to a grave stone, but when I'm here talking to James, I feel as if I gain strength and confidence. It's like he is still here next to me facing the same challenges I'm facing, and he assists me in overcoming obstacles in life."

"Double Dee." said Marie as grabbed Double Dees face with her hand, pulling it up so that he was looking directly into her eyes. "That is not unusual in the slightest bit. Don't you ever think that I'm bothered by being in here with you. In fact, I am honored that you brought me here."

Double Dee smiled at Marie as they sat in each other's arms in front of the headstone. They sat together in the afternoon sun for around a half hour, before Double Dee stood up.

"I guess we should be going, I really do not want to raise suspicion." said Double Dee.

"Whenever you're ready Double Dee, take all of the time that you need" said Marie in a serious tone as she squeezed his hand.

Double Dee and Marie stood up. After spending another minute in a moment of silence at the stone, the couple began their trek out of the cemetery, holding hands once more all along the way.

Marie and Double Dee had finally reached the outside of the cemetery. Double Dee began unlocking the chain on his bike.

"Thank you for coming accompanying me here Marie, I am really glad that you could make it." said Double Dee.

"I am really glad that you invited me here Double Dee." said Marie as she smiled and touched him on the shoulder, just as he unlocked the bike. He pulled the bike free from the gate. Double Dee held the bike out and looked at Marie.

"Your chariot awaits princess." he said while smiling. Marie grinned and walked over to Double Dee with an exaggerated amount of hip sway. She slid around Double Dee and placed her right leg over the bike before planting herself down on the seat. After kissing Double Dees cheek, the two were off once again, on their way back to Peach Creek, the brisk wind blowing in their face.

"Double Dee." said Marie, "Do you remember what the first words that you ever said directly to me were."

Double Dee thought for a split second.

"Well, it was probably some kind of scream, as I was extremely terrified of your methods of displaying affection." He replied.

Marie clicked her tongue and playfully slapped Double Dee on the shoulder.

"Double Dee." she said, with a playful shocked look on her face, "How could you not remember, I remember what you said."

"Really, then what were the words." said Double Dee.

"Remember when we gave you and your friends burgers the first time you came to my house." said Marie.

"Yes, those were pretty good burgers I may add." said Double Dee.

"Well, while you were on our couch inhaling your food, I was standing behind you trying to make you comfortable by putting a pillow behind your head, and do you know what you said to me for doing it?" said Marie.

"Thank you very much Angel." said Double Dee as he turned around and smiled.

"No, you said…." Marie now deepened her voice as if to make fun of Double Dee before finishing her sentence, "Please refrain from touching me while I'm eating, thank you."

Double Dee laughed,

"Now I remember." he said, "What was I to do, you were invading my personal space." said Double Dee.

"Well, I'll say the same thing as I did back then, I'll touch whenever I want Buddy boy." Marie began poking Double Dee in the back, laughing as she did so.

Double Dee couldn't help but realize the irony of the statement. A year and a half ago, when Marie and her sisters had moved to Peach Creek, he had not even wanted Marie within ten feet of him. Now, he wanted to be with Marie at all times. He actually longed to be touched by Marie, to be lost in her embrace, to never let her go.

The couple laughed and joked as they reentered the Peach Creek business district. Double Dee had decided to take the back streets, to avoid being seen by anyone. Before they knew it, they were within a block of the cul-de-sac, and they both knew that all of the kids in the neighborhood would probably be outside. Double Dee stopped the bike.

"Do you think it's wise to stop here?" he asked.

"I think so." said Marie as she got off of the bike.

"So, I will see you again soon." said Double Dee.

"Of course you will sweetie." said Marie, smiling at him, "Maybe sooner than you think."

"I would really like that Marie." said Double Dee as he looked into Maries eyes.

Marie leaned into Double Dees face and kissed him for a few seconds. She quickly followed the kiss with a firm hug.

"I love you Double Dee," she said as she pulled away and looked into his face.

"I love you too Marie." replied Double Dee as he stared back at her.

With another quick kiss, Marie began walking toward the trailer park.

"Bye Double Dee." said Marie as she walked.

"Goodbye Marie." said Double Dee as he began riding back toward his house.

As Double Dee rode back to his house, he couldn't help but wonder what Marie meant by 'see you sooner rather than later.' Either way, seeing Marie was always something good, so he really didn't mind the slightest bit.

Double Dee turned the corner of to the cul-de-sac. As his house came into view, he noticed that his two best friends happened to be sitting on his stoop waiting for him. Eddy was holding a shovel, while Ed was holding a bag of mulch. Double Dee jumped the curb and rode up the gravel path to his house.

"Hey sock head where ya been?" said Eddy. "It's a half day, I know you don't have an excuse not to come help us."

"Come help us Double Dee, we miss you." said Ed.

Double Dee knew that even though Marie was the most important person in the world to him right now, his best friends were still important to him as well. He felt slightly bothered to have not been able to catch up with them for the last few days. He had free time, and he knew that he would use it to help his friends.

"Okay gentlemen, I will gladly oblige." replied Double Dee.

"Does that mean you're coming with us?" asked Eddy.

"Absolutely" said Double Dee. "Just let me change into a more suitable attire, I can't risk tarnishing my school clothes."

Double Dee walked into his house, and headed up to his room to put on a pair of old jeans and an old shirt. He also made a quick stop into his garage for a pair of rubber gloves. Meanwhile, Ed and Eddy conversed outside.

"Remember lumpy, we're gonna play into him for now. Don't say anything about the operation got it." said Eddy quietly to Ed.

"Skip to my lou my darling." replied Ed while smiling.

"I take it that that means you understand." said Eddy.

"Understand what Eddy." Asked Ed confused

"Just keep your mouth shut Monobrow" said Eddy.

Double Dee had finally changed and joined his friends outside of his house. The three boys then made their way to Mr. Jenkins backyard, where they would spend the next few hours laying down mulch and replanting grass.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

The afternoon sun had just begun to set when Eddy declared that the boys were finished mulching Mr. Jenkins soil. After an inspection, and his approval, Mr. Jenkins had declared Eddy free of his debt. The boys walked out of the yard for the last time, and headed for a long overdue shower, well at least Double Dee and Eddy.

"Thank god that's over," said Eddy, "Who the hell keeps all of that crap in their yard for all of those years."

"Eddy, you must understand, Mr. Jenkins is a senior citizen, and may not be able to adequately take care of his personal belongs. Thus it is our duty as young, thoughtful citizens to assist him in any way possible." Double Dee turned to face Eddy and raised his voice slightly. "And NOT just because they are on punishment."

"Whatever sock head," said Eddy, "Man I freakin' reek of manure and funk, I definitely need a shower."

"I second that notion." said Double Dee

"Plus I need to finish my homework, with that stupid math teacher and his detentions every time I miss an assignment." said Eddy.

"I'm glad to see that you finally have motivation to complete your academic work, even if it's not to get a detention," said Double Dee

The boys reached the middle of the cul-de-sac and parted ways, each headed to their respective house, with promises to see each other in school the next day.

Double Dee walked into his house and closed the front door. He quickly walked upstairs and went straight into the bathroom, where he promptly warmed the bath water up to a comfortable temperature. After spending around 20 minutes in the shower, ridding himself of the unbearable filth he was forced to endure, he slipped into pajama pants and a white t-shirt, not forgetting to cover his head with his black ski hat.

Double Dee had not had quiet time like this in awhile, after balancing time between Marie and his friends. He thought it would be a good opportunity to return to his studies and to get started on his science fair project; he had entered himself Ed and Eddy without telling his friends only because each group must be three or more students. He knew that he would have no problem doing all of the work.

Although Double Dee was multiplying binomials in his notebook, the only thing his mind could think of was his girlfriend. He wondered what she was doing at the very moment, and if she was thinking of him. His pencil slowly slipped away under his hand, and eventually stopped as he slipped into a day dream.

He was quickly roused, when he heard the familiar sound of Westminster chimes, which indicated that someone was at the front door. His father had left that afternoon on surprise trip to Guam, and his mother was at the hospital on call. He knew he had to be the one to answer it. He ran down the stairs and opened the front door.

As soon as the front door was open, Double Dee felt a pair of moist lips press themselves against his. He was taken aback until he realized that it was none other than Marie. Marie placed her arms around Double Dees neck as she began opening her lips onto Double Dees. Double Dee was still dumbstruck by what was happening but couldn't resist doing the same back to her. After pinning Double Dee to the wall directly next to the stairs, Marie pulled away, grinning into his eyes.

"Hey, handsome," she said in a seductive voice.

"Hey, Marie, this is certainly a surprise," said Double Dee blushing.

"Hey, I said I'll see you sooner than you think." said Marie, as she pressed her lips back into his and began making out with Double Dee once again. Marie pulled her lips away.

"It's been so long since I kissed you like this." said Marie, as she jumped up onto Double Dee, wrapping her legs around his waist, while keeping her arms wrapped around his neck. Double Dee nearly stumbled over with the addition of Marie's weight. He was blushing severely. Marie leaned in really closely to his ear. "I really missed it." she said, she then looked down and smiled, "I can tell you have too." She giggled, as Double Dee began sweating.

Marie quickly retouched her lips to his, as the two continued their passionate kiss, with Marie still having her legs wrapped around Double Dees waist

"Just to make sure, I already checked for your parent's cars, no one's home right?" asked Marie looking at Double Dee.

"No, nobody's home." said Double Dee, astounded that Marie had known what his parents cars looked like, Then again, she did stalk him for a year and a half.

"Good, then let's go." said Marie

"Go where?" replied Double Dee nervously.

Marie groaned, "Do I have to do all of the work?" said Marie jokingly as she placed her feet back on the floor. "Pick me up under my knees and put your other hand under my back."

Double Dee did as she told him to, barely able to hold her weight in his arms.

"Okay, now take me to your room." said Marie.

"What?" said Double Dee nervously.

"Relax Double Dee, I'm not looking for anything too risqué, just a little continuation of our night at my grandpas house." Marie giggled while looking into Double Dees eyes. She jumped down from Double Dees arms and proceeded to walk toward the stairs.

"Are you coming, Double Dee?" asked Marie, in a seductive voice.

With a sigh, Double Dee followed Marie up the stairs to his room. He was extremely nervous at this point. He had never been in such a bizarre predicament.

Marie had beaten Double Dee to his room. When he approached the door, he noticed that it was cracked and the lights were out inside. Double Dees heart was pounding, he couldn't help feeling like he was doing something wrong; yet at the same time, what he was doing felt so right, and he couldn't resist the urge to enter his room.

"Marie, where are you I can't see an inch in front of my face." said Double Dee.

"I'm on your bed." said Marie, "Come join me."

Double Dee had especially liked Marie's sweet side, and had gotten used to her sense of humor. Her "adventurous" side however would take some getting used to.

Double Dee walked over to his bed and sat down on the edge. Just as he sat down, he felt a leg pass over his hips and before he knew it, Marie was straddling him on the edge of the bed, once again with her arms around his neck. She touched her lips to his. A surge of energy seemed to fly through Double Dees body at the touch of her lips, and most of his nervousness went away.

Reluctantly, Double Dee slowly placed his arms around Maries back. Marie once again initiated an open mouth kiss and Double Dee had once again found himself making out with his girlfriend.

Double Dees nervousness quickly returned as he felt Marie shove him down onto the bed. She promptly laid her body down onto his. She moved her lips onto Double Dees and began kissing him once again. They were now in an extremely suggestive position, in the dark, in Double Dees bed; although no one was home, Double Dee couldn't help but feel jumpy. Marie took notice to his nervousness.

"Are you okay Double Dee?" she asked, pulling away from him and looking into his eyes. At this time, Double Dees eyes were adjusted to the darkness, and he could see Maries face. In the midst of their moment, Maries hair had been swept out of her right eye, leaving it exposed.

"I am quite fine Marie, I just feel slightly jittery, that is all." replied Double Dee.

"Do you want to stop?" asked Marie.

Double Dee looked into Maries face. She was so beautiful. Beautiful was not the only word to describe her as Double Dees fourteen year old hormones had the best of him at this moment. Marie was not only beautiful, she was hot, and downright sexy. He smiled up at Marie.

"Please continue, Marie." he said, smiling up at her. Marie smiled back down at him, she leaned into his face, barley touching her lips to his.

"I think it so sexy that you can still be so polite and proper, even at a moment like this." Marie said as she thrust her lips back into Double Dees.

The couple continued to passionately kiss for a few more minutes. After a while, Double Dee began to notice that Marie was once again moving herself back and forth against him as she was in the abandoned house, although this time, it was a much better experience, as he was wearing soft pajamas, and Marie was wearing leggings under a skirt. Double Dee's body was filled with warmth and his stomach felt like it was in knots.

Although Double Dee was a shy teenager in personality, his hormones were striking a completely different chord. He felt himself kissing Marie faster than before. Marie moved her right hand down form where it was resting against the bed above his head and grabbed Double Dees hand in a laced finger hold. She brought it up to where her hand was previously and pinned it to the bed.

After a few minutes, he noticed Maries breathing begin to quicken, and she continued to kiss him. Marie continued moving herself, quickening the pace and simultaneously pressing harder into Double Dee. He was slightly uncomfortable, and became slightly more anxious, but had no intentions of stopping her.

Eventually, Marie pulled away from Double Dees lips and remained about an inch away from his face, continuing her motion, breathing heavily. After a few minutes, Marie began pressing herself especially hard into Double Dee, at which point her head reared up and she inadvertently let out a high pitched stuttered vocalization while her hips shuddered slightly.

At this exact same moment, Double Dee's hormones were in complete control. Due to various circumstances, including the event that just happened, a feeling of warm and euphoria rushed through Double Dees body, a feeling he had never felt before, and while he did enjoy it, he was quite shaken up once it had passed.

Suddenly, Marie had stopped moving. She was now laying on top of Double Dee looking into his eyes. Double Dee could feel her shaking out of nervousness, just as he was himself. Marie was slightly embarrassed and blushing, even though Double Dee could not see her red cheeks, after a few seconds, Marie broke the silence.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that to happen." said Marie, in an extremely nervous tone. "I guess we can say the same for you."

Marie pulled her leg over Double Dee and laid her head on his chest. Double Dee was completely speechless for around two minutes before he finally got the nerve to speak.

"It was quite unexpected." said Double Dee, he was filled completely with embarrassment, and was sweating heavily. He couldn't believe that what had just happened really happened. Although he felt extremely silly at the moment, he could help but feel like he had just become a man. Marie broke the silence with a joke.

"I guess we both gave in to our reproductive urges that time." said Marie as she giggled, making quotation marks with her fingers, as she said 'reproductive urges'

"I supposed we did Marie," said Double Dee, as he looked over into her face. He used his hand to brush her hair away from her right eye, so that he could look into her full face. At that moment Marie leaned in and kissed Double Dee. The couple kissed for a few minutes, before Marie leaned her head on his chest once again.

"I love you Double Dee." said Marie.

Double Dee smiled as he looked toward his ceiling before responding.

"I love you too Marie." he replied.

After a few more minutes of silence, Marie spoke.

"Double Dee, tell me a funny story." she said playfully.

Double Dee was stunned by her question, he had no idea what to say.

"Whatever do you mean Marie?" he asked. Marie shifted her head so that she was looking up into his eyes.

"Tell me something funny that you did, like an embarrassing moment in your life." She replied.

Double Dee thought about her inquiry for a few minutes. After a few minutes of thinking, he finally came up with a humorous story to tell.

"Well Marie, there was this one time. It was a few days after we had first met you and your sisters. There was an intense heat wave. Ed, Eddy and I were trying to figure out ways to cool off when we ran into Kevin."

"Who's Kevin again?" asked Marie.

"The kid that always wears the red hat and rides the bike." replied Double Dee.

"Oh gotchya." said Marie.

"Well, continuing the story, we ran into Kevin and he informed us that he was attending a sprinkler party along with all of the other kids of the cul-de-sac. Now keep in mind, this is back when we were all hated due to Eddy's anti social behavior, so we Eds were not invited."

"So what happened then?" asked Marie with a smile on her face.

"So then, Eddy decided to take matter into his own hands. He decided that we should attend the party anyway. He took us back to his room, and made us change into these horrifyingly tight speedo swimsuits."

Marie giggled.

"Well, yes it seems quite amusing, but Ed and I could barely move our legs without torturing our private quarters. Eddy, being who he is, naturally thought we looked cool. He led us all to the party, where after a horrible sequence of events, the swimsuits exceeded their tensile strength and managed to tear. We were left standing naked in the middle of the yard."

Marie broke out into solid laughter.

"Damn it!" she yelled jokingly, "Me and my sisters would have died to see that last summer! I know I wish I was there to see you Double Dee" she said jokingly.

"Yes, it was quite a predicament," said Double Dee while he blushed at the thought of him standing naked in front of Marie.

"So what did you guys do?" asked Marie.

"We hid in the kiddy pool for hours until everyone had gone inside. We then made our escape under the cover of darkness." said Double Dee.

Marie continued laughing.

"I'm sorry cutie." She said, "It's just thinking about that happening to you, and how shy of a person you are. That moment must have been priceless."

While slightly embarrassed about being laughed at over this incident, Double Dee couldn't help but enjoy seeing his girlfriend smiling and having fun. He couldn't help but join in and laugh with her.

Marie and Double Dee continued their talk for hours, spending the evening together in each others arms in the darkness of Double Dees room.

As the happy couple talked about fun memories from the past, Eddy had just emerged from his peaceful shower into his retro, 70's style room. He stopped at the mirror to check himself out. As he was observing himself, and forming poses, a familiar face appeared next to him.

"Hi Eddy!" said Ed.

"Ed, you idiot!" yelled Eddy, "What are you doing here, I thought you were getting a bath."

"Ah baths are for losers Eddy, everyone knows that." replied Ed as he put Eddy in a headlock.

"I would rather be a loser than have to smell as bad as your pits do now." yelled Eddy as he wrestled out of Ed's headlock.

"Anyway Eddy, can you help me with my math?" asked Ed

"I don't know how to do that crap, I usually just copy off of Double Dee." said Eddy as he slipped his night shirt over his head.

"Let's go get him," said Eddy, "I'm really not in the mood for a detention after this week." Eddy began walking toward his door.

"Sounds like a plan, Eddy my man" yelled Ed as he ran after Eddy.

The toys boys ran briskly across the street and into Double Dee's yard. They hopped the fence to his backyard and stared up at Double Dees window. Eddy took notice that his light was out

"Damn, the sock heads already in bed." said Eddy.

"Please Eddy, Double Dee has to help us. If he doesn't the teacher will call my mom, then mom will tell dad, and he will say 'not now honey, I had a hard day at work'." yelled a panic stricken Ed.

"Alright geez Lumpy." said Eddy. "Keep your shirt on, for all of our sakes. Give me a boost."

Ed lifted Eddy up onto his shoulders, at which point Eddy grabbed the drain pipe and began climbing up to Double Dees bedroom window. Eddy reached the glass window and looked inside.

"Is Double Dee sleeping Eddy?" Ed said rather quietly

"Nah," Eddy whispered while looking down towards Ed, "He's laying on his bed with some girl."

At those last words, Eddy took a second look into the bedroom. Sure enough Double Dee was lying in bed with a girl. Maries black hair and different form of dress concealed her identity, as her face was turned away from the window.

"She's real, I don't believe it." said Eddy under his breath. "Ed you gotta see this!" said Eddy as he began climbing down the drain pipe. As he reached the bottom he motioned Ed to keep quiet with his index finger over his mouth, and used his hands to motion Ed up the drain pipe. Ed climbed to the top and peered into the window. After a few seconds, he climbed back down and stood next to Eddy.

"So did you see her?" asked Eddy.

"See who Eddy?" said Ed.

Eddy groaned.

"Never mind Ed." said Eddy, he was slightly infuriated, he began pacing around the yard. "How does Double Dee, king of the nerds, wind up with a girl in his bed, before I even get a damn kiss."

Ed stood looking dumbfounded as Eddy began pacing around the yard.

"Damn it, this means Kevin wins!" Eddy groaned. Suddenly a familiar voice rang out

"Kevin what?" said Kevin, as he and Rolf peered over the fence to Double Dees yard.

"Kevin!" Ed yelled, "There's a girl in Double Dees bed.

"Bull," said Kevin as he and Rolf hopped over the fence, "Let me see this for myself."

Kevin walked over to the drain pipe and climbed up. Eddy turned to Ed as Kevin was climbing up the pipe.

"Great." Eddy said quietly, "Thanks to your big mouth, I'm gonna have to pay Kevin."

"My big mouth gladly says you're welcome Eddy." Eddy turned his attention back to Kevin, who was now looking into the window.

"NO FREAKIN WAY!" Kevin yelled in a breathy whisper, "Dude was getting some action!" he said as he laughed.

"Double Dee Ed boy is basking in the affections of a female in the private quarters. I must see this to believe it." said Rolf.

"It's all yours dude," said Kevin, as he climbed back down the drain pipe. Rolf began ascending the pipe.

"So Eddy," said Kevin, "Let's talk cash." He said grinning towards Eddy. Eddy sighed.

"All's I have to say is you will have the 20 dollars on Friday." Said Eddy in a less than enthusiastic voice. Kevin snickered.

Rolf had finally reached the window and peered in.

"Hello." said Rolf as he looked in a smiled, "Alas the brainy Ed boy does have a lady friend."

Rolf began descending the pipe, after which he joined the rest of the boys standing in a circle. All of the boys were laughing except Eddy, who was ticked off because Double Dee had a girlfriend, as well as loosing 20 dollars. He had lost two things that were important to him that night, his pride, as well as his money.

"This is great, I didn't think Double Dee had it in him." said Kevin.

"Not so fast," said Eddy, "I want to know who this girl is."

"He already told us dork, her name is Maryanne, remember?" said Kevin.

"I say we follow her when she leaves to find out exactly where she lives. For some reason, I still suspect something." said Eddy.

"Oh come on Eddy, isn't him laying up in bed with her enough proof that she is real." said Kevin.

"I re bet the 20 bucks, that she isn't named Maryanne, and that she doesn't live in Lemon Brook." said Eddy, desperate to get his money back.

"Dude, just admit that you lost the bet." said Kevin.

"What are ya, chicken?" said Eddy as he grinned at Kevin, and began dancing around clucking like a chicken.

"Alright Eddy, if you want to play that way then fine. If she is not who he told us she wa , you keep the 20, but if he was telling the truth, you owe me another 20. How does that strike ya?" said Kevin, grinning into Eddy's face.

Eddy remained silent for a few seconds. He didn't want to loose another twenty dollars, but it was unbearable to have lost that much money in the first place. Without thinking any more, Eddy stuck out his hand and shook Kevin's.

"Deal." he said smiling at Kevin.

"Short stubby Ed boy keeps digging himself into debt.." said Rolf laughing.

"Eddy, your such a fool dude, you basically just promised me another 20 dollars. I mean who else could it possibly be, and why would Double Dee lie about something like that." Kevin began laughing with Rolf.

"Hey it's possible." said Eddy, prompting even more laughter from Kevin and Rolf, Ed eventually joined in.

"Alright, shut up." said Eddy. "Let's all go wait in the bushes out front and wait for her to come out."

The boys all funneled out of the yard and took their places hiding in the bushes near the edge of Double Dees yard.

Meanwhile, inside Double Dees bedroom, the couple had realized that it was half past nine, and it was about time for them to say goodbye again. They were finishing up yet another funny story and were both laughing hysterically.

"So then Lee saw Eddy blushing and sweating, and realized that you guys were playing a trick on us, if he didn't screw up, you might have just wierded us out enough for us to leave you guys alone!" said Marie as she laughed.

"It was reverse, reverse psychology." said Double Dee, snickering.

"Well, I better get going. May told Lee that I got in trouble at school for graffitiing on the girls room wall, and that I had to come back to school after the professional development meeting to clean off all of the walls." Marie laughed, Double Dee joined in.

"And guess what cutie," Marie said as she wrapped her arms behind Double Dees neck and stared up into his eyes dreamily, "Now that May knows about us, it won't be as hard for me to see you anymore. Lee is going to be out with my mom tomorrow night late, so do you want to come over to the trailer to hang out."

Double Dee answered immediately.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world Marie." said Double Dee.

"Great, May will be there, but she won't get in the way, I promise. I'll be sure of it." said Marie grinning at her last statement.

"That's perfectly fine with me." said Double Dee.

The couple gave each other a hug and walked down the stairs towards the front door of the house.

Outside, the boys had been waiting for about twenty minutes when finally they heard the door unlatch. They all perked up to see what was going on. They saw Double Dee and the supposed Maryanne on the stoop staring into each other's eyes. Luckily for the couple, the boys didn't recognize Marie without her blue hair and punk rock style of dress.

"What are they saying?" whispered Eddy.

"I don't know, I can't hear them." replied Kevin

After a few moments, the couple shared a kiss on the porch, not realizing they were being watched.

"Ooooh way to go Double Dee." said Kevin whispering. Eddy groaned furiously.

The couple gave each other a final hug before Marie began making her way out of Double Dees yard. The boys waited for Double Dee to close the door before they made their move.

"Alright boys, let's do it." said Eddy.

The group of boys briskly followed Marie around the corner and waited peering around the fence as she walked down the cross street.

"See Kevin," said Eddy. "She's not going to Lemon Brook is she? Feel confident now?"

"That don't mean squat," said Kevin, "Let's keep going."

The boys followed Marie as she turned into the construction site, and began walking toward the trailer park.

"Where the hell is she going?" asked Eddy as he looked at his friends puzzled. The boys continued their pursuit.

Inevitably, the pursuit led them to the trailer park where they witnessed the girl who they thought was Maryanne walk right up to the Kankers trailer.

"Kevin," said Eddy, "Is that girl walking into the Kanker's trailer?"

"Yes, yes she is Eddy." said Kevin, looking as dumbstruck as Eddy.

As the girl turned around to close the door behind her, Eddy caught a glimpse of her face. The freckles and the bangs over her right eye gave away her identity.

"Kevin, you won't believe it if I told you." said Eddy.

Just then, the sound of Lee Kankers gruff voice filled the air from inside the trailer.

"It's about time Marie! What were ya doing cleanin the toilets with your armpit hairs?"

"DOUBLE DEE IS DATING MARIE KANKER!" yelled Eddy and Kevin simultaneously

"No it can't be," said Eddy, "We must have followed the wrong girl. Marie has blue hair, and dresses in black. That girl was pretty cute!"

"Eddy, I hate to break it to ya man, but what we saw was real." said Kevin.

"Oohhh oooh that reminds me." said Ed. "The other night when you asked me to push the thingy with the wheel out to the curb, I bumped into Marie Kanker."

"Yeah, and what happened Monobrow?" said Eddy.

"Well she told me to keep quiet and to keep my mouth shut and that she was never there Eddy." said Ed.

It had finally clicked into Eddy's head why Ed had been acting slightly weird that night.

"Oh and guess what else." said Ed while reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out the signed picture of Double Dee that he had picked up the same night. "I found this on the ground."

"Give me that." said Eddy snatching the picture out of Ed's hand. All of the boys leaned over Eddy's shoulder and read the handwriting. Surely it was Double Dees writing, and sure enough it said, To Marie, Love Edd.

"Ed why didn't you show this to us before!" yelled Eddy.

"I tried to Eddy, but you kept complaining about me not lifting that bag." said Ed.

Eddy groaned.

"I can't believe it. The lipstick stain, she was over his house that night of the carnival before we got there. And now it makes sense where he was coming from the night we bumped into him. Even when we were attacked in the lane, the day I got in trouble, he was acting!" yelled Eddy.

Eddy contemplated for a few minutes

"We have to help him." said Eddy, "We have to figure out a way to get him out of this. She probably has him brainwashed. I can't stand around and watch my friend fall in love with a Kanker. Boys I've got a plan, but for now we'll just play into his little game, and keep watching him, making sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Righteous dude." said Kevin, "We can't let this happen."

"We must save Double Dee from the evil clutches of the Kanker sisters!" yelled Ed as he began running toward the trailer. Eddy promptly grabbed him.

"Whoah Whoah Lumpy, not so fast. We have to play it cool and slow." said Eddy.

The boys stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Well, now that we all feel like hurling our guts up knowing that Double Dee had just kissed a Kanker out of his own will, how's about we all go home and get some shut eye?" said Eddy.

"I agree, all of these charades have really tired Rolf." said Rolf.

The boys walked back out of the trailer park and to the middle of the cul-de-sac, all still shocked from the discovery. Eddy realized something as they walked down the sidewalk of the cul-de-sac, and began to grin.

"HA HA! the bet's off Kevin" said Eddy, " She wasn't Maryanne, and she doesn't live in Lemon Brook."

"Fine, no skin off my nose, I don't have to give you anything." said Kevin as he walked down the path of his house.

"Don't be mad Kev," yelled Eddy as he walked towards his front door, laughing and joking with Kevin.

All of the boys bid each other goodnight and prepared for bed. As they were tucking themselves into their beds, Double Dee and Marie were currently doing the same. Within their minds were beautiful thoughts of each other; little did they know that their well kept secret had been exposed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

It was around 11:30 a.m. the following day, and the lunch bell had just rung. Double Dee was currently assisting the biology lab technician in restocking the lab, which would cause him to be a little over five minutes late for lunch. Kevin was standing with Nazz, flirting with her at her locker as she exchanged her morning books for the afternoon ones.

"So, we still on for tomorrow tonight?" asked Kevin smiling at Nazz, while he leaned his hand on the locker. Kevin had invited Nazz to come over his house on Friday night to watch a few movies. Of course, watching movies wasn't the only thing they'd be doing and Kevin had no problem with that.

Just then, Kevin heard a loud PSSST! come from behind him. He turned around, and saw Eddy's head leaning around the corner of the hallway. Eddy motioned him to come around the corner by flinging his head upwards. Kevin motioned his eyes toward Nazz and whispered.

"Not now dork."

"I need to ask you something real quick." said Eddy. Kevin sighed once again.

"I'll be right back, I need to talk to Eddy for a few minutes." said Kevin as he began walking toward Eddy, Nazz looked over his shoulder and saw Eddy's face.

"Alright then." said Nazz, slightly confused at what was going on.

Kevin rounded the corner to find Eddy standing with Ed leaning up against the wall. Eddy wasted no time.

"You didn't tell her did you?" asked Eddy.

"No, I thought it was supposed to be just between us four for now." replied Kevin.

"It is" said Eddy.

"Is that the only reason you brought me around here." asked a moderately annoyed Kevin.

"No, listen." said Eddy, "The Sock Head is doing something nerdy in the science lab now, and he will be here in about five minutes, I say we all sit at the same table, and feel him out, play it cool. We'll ask him questions that will trip him up."

"You're lucky Nazz has cheerleading practice this period." said Kevin.

"Perfect," said Eddy with a grin on his face. "We'll get a confession in no time. Now remember, do not say anything about Marie. We have to get him to say it."

"Whatever man." said Kevin.

"I am hungry and want to eat." said Ed. "Can we go to the lunch room now?"

"Alright lumpy, lets go grab a table and wait for Double Dee." said Eddy.

"Good!" yelled Ed, "I've been saving this to share with my best pals for over two weeks,"

Ed reached into his locker and pulled out a cake tray. He carefully pulled back the tin foil to reveal a moldy cake with gravy smeared over the top of it.

"It is my own special recipe, bon apetite." said Ed as he held the tray out to Eddy. "Try it Eddy."

"No thanks Ed," said Eddy, trying to prevent himself from gagging at the smell of the moldy cake, "I want to save room for my lunch."

"Kevin." He said holding the tray out to Kevin. Kevin absorbed the smell of the cake, which immediately turned his stomach.

"No thanks Ed, I'm allergic to gravy." said Kevin, obviously lying.

"Oh well." said Ed shrugging his shoulders, "More for me!"

The two boys watched as Ed pulled a messy spoon out of his jacket pocket and began shoveling the cake into his mouth. Eddy and Kevin both had to turn away as they were becoming nauseous. Ed had finished all but a small morsel which he placed in his pocket, while he discarded the tray.

"All finished!" said Ed, after which he belched.

"Ed, you're an animal!" yelled Eddy as the boys walked into the cafeteria.

There was a long line of students waiting to be served their food within the cafeteria.. After a quick glance around the auditorium, Eddy noticed that the Kanker sisters were already seated at their usual table in the back of the lunchroom, enjoying their lunch. All three sisters were eating pizza. The boys stood in the doorway, trying to remain out of sight.

"Look, there they are." said Eddy, "And look, Marie has black hair, I told ya!"

There was a pause before Eddy continued.

"Alright boys, let's take that table there" said Eddy, he began leading his friends into the cafeteria.

As the boys walked into the cafeteria, Eddy noticed that Lee had glanced over at him. Eddy was surprised that even though Lee had seen him for the first time today, she didn't come over to harass him. May remained at her place as well, even though her Ed was within 20 feet of her. Eddy positioned all three boys so that they were facing the sisters. He periodically glanced at the Kankers, who were simply talking and occasionally taking bites out of their slices of pizza.

"Hello friends!" said the high pitched, foreign accented voice of Rolf. Rolf placed his brown paper bag down on the table next to Kevin, and proceeded to step over the bench seat to sit down. "Has the Double Dee Ed boy arrived yet?"

"Nope, that's who were waiting for." said Eddy, "He should be here any minute now."

Just then the doors to the cafeteria opened, and Double Dee entered, carrying his brown bag packed lunch.

"There he is, now play it cool, and remember what we said" said Eddy.

Double Dee scanned the entire cafeteria. The first person who came into view was his beloved Marie, who locked eyes with him as well. Double Dee smiled at Marie as he walked down the aisle of tables towards where his friends were sitting. Unfortunately, he had to look away as to avoid being suspected, even though unbeknownst to him, their relationship was already exposed.

Double Dee finally reached the table and put his lunch down.

"Greetings friends, how are you on this fine day of learning?" asked Double Dee

"Great Sock Head." replied Eddy, "Take a seat, stay a while."

Double Dee sat down at the table and began pulling his lunch out of his bag. He glanced across the room at the Kankers table. His eyes caught Maries, and they found themselves once again smiling at each other.

Eddy spent no time before jumping into the juicy details.

"So how's Maryanne?" he asked with a grin on his face.

Those words were enough to break his attention away from Marie. Double Dee stopped chewing his sandwich and placed it on the table, he was not expecting a question like that at this very moment. He completely froze up.

"Maryanne is doing perfectly fine." said Double Dee, breaking a sweat.

"Yeah, we saw her…."

Ed began speaking about the previous night, almost blowing the whole operation, until Eddy cut him off.

"Ed, don't you have some of your cake, you want Double Dee to try?" asked Eddy.

"Oh boy, I do!" yelled Ed, as he pulled the small piece of leftover gravy cake out of his pocket. "Here you go Double Dee." said Ed as he placed the cake toward his nose. Double Dee winced back as the aroma hit his nose.

"No thank you Ed," said Double Dee, "While I am honored by your donation of your last piece of cake, I cannot take the last of your lunch as….."

Double Dee was cut off as Eddy stole the cake out of Ed's hand and shoved the piece into Double Dees mouth. Double Dees face immediately turned green. Double Dee quickly stood up and ran out of the cafeteria, on his way to the bathroom to vomit.

"Phew, that was close." said Eddy, "Ed you idiot, you almost blew the whole thing! When he comes back, keep your big mouth shut!"

In short, Double Dee never came back. He spent the next five minutes vomiting over the toilet on the boy's bathroom. After we was sure that he felt better, he decided to hang out away from the cafeteria as to avoid any more questioning from his friends about his personal life. Although he was sure to raise suspicion by doing so, he didn't want his horrible social skills to be his downfall. Eventually, the bell rang, and lunch was over, prompting Double Dee to continue on to his next class.

The rest of the day flew by rather quickly, as before he knew it, Double Dee was at his locker, preparing to leave the school. At this moment, Eddy and Ed both approached him, Ed looked quite disheartened.

"Hey, Double Dee, ya feeling better?" asked Eddy

"For your information, Eddy, I am feeling better. I was quite sure that you had almost given me food poisoning during lunch period today. By the way Eddy, would you mind telling me why you shoved a piece of moldy cake down my throat without my permission!" yelled Double Dee.

"Hey, someone had to do it, and it happened to be you. We didn't want to hurt Eds feelings now would we?" said Eddy laughing.

Double Dee glanced over at Ed, who was looking rather melancholy.

"Whats the matter Ed?" asked Double Dee.

"Me and Ed got detention for not finishing our math homework, stupid teacher." said Eddy as Double Dee finished up at his locker and began walking toward the door.

"And Mr. Diskin said he's going to call my mom!" Ed yelled in fear.

"You're not the only one Ed, now I am probably going to wind up being grounded again, all because of stupid…." Eddy caught himself blaming his detention on Double Dee and Marie's relationship before he abruptly stopped.

"You were saying Eddy?" asked Double Dee.

"Stupid algebra, who the hell needs matrixes." Yelled Eddy as he stopped at the door to the classroom where his detention was to be held.

"Eddy, I believe the correct way to pluralize matrix, is matrices." said Double Dee as he stopped to finish talking to Eddy.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, either way it's all just a load of crap." said Eddy, "Alright Double Dee, I'll catch you on the flip side, if we're late we have to come again tomorrow.

"Alright gentlemen, I will see you later, take care now." said Double Dee as he continued down the hall.

"Easy for you to say." grumbled Eddy under his breath.

Eddy opened the door to the classroom, and entered while still turned around talking to Ed.

"Alright let's get this over with," said Eddy casually as he strolled into the classroom. He turned around to look for a seat. As he did, his eyes widened in horror, as did Ed's at who they saw sitting in the middle of the classroom

"Hey little man, why don't you come sit next to me?" said the gruff voice of Lee Kanker.

Eddy groaned as he sat down two seats away from Lee, Ed sitting directly next to him on the opposite side.

"So what are ya in for hot stuff?" asked Lee.

"Not turning in math homework." said Eddy, what do you care anyway.

"Hey, can't a girl just ask a question without getting lip." said Lee.

"Why are you here?" asked Eddy.

"I got caught cutting sixth period." she responded gruffly. Eddy was not surprised. "May and Marie were too chicken to do it, and I didn't feel like bein' there, so I left, got a problem with it shrimp?" Lee looked over into Eddy's face with an intimidating stare.

Eddy had forgotten about Marie and Double Dee up until Lee had just mentioned her sister's names. A metaphorical light bulb lit up in Eddy's head; he had an idea.

"Never mind that, I got a question to ask you." said Eddy.

"Sure I wanna make-out." replied Lee already anticipating Eddys question, laughing hysterically.

"Cut the crap, this is serious, has your sister Marie been acting differently lately?" asked Eddy.

Lee froze where she was. It was true, Marie had been behaving rather oddly for the past week or so, including the fact that all of the sudden, May had done her shopping and managed to buy the wrong hair dye after four straight years of buying the right stuff every time. How in the world did Eddy know that she was acting strangely. Lee, being as street smart as Eddy, perhaps even more so, began to suspect that the Eddy had a secret, and the Ed's had something to do with Maries deviant behavior.

"A'ight, you got my attention." said Lee. "She has been acting weird ya know, like leavin the trailer at night all the time, and claiming that she had went clubbing, which she had never done before. I believe that crap as far as I could throw her."

Lee paused, "So whadya know?" she asked.

"Well, it just so happens that the 'club' that she is going to happens to be Double Dees house." said Eddy grinning.

"What are ya sayin?" said Lee as she looked over at Eddy.

"I'm saying, that for the last week, you're sister has been dating my best friend!" said Eddy.

"Bullshit." said Lee, "She's probably doin him, but she definitely ain't dating him." said Lee, following it up with a snicker.

"Oh really." said Eddy as he reached into Ed's jacket pocket and pulled out the picture of Double Dee and held it out to Lee. "Check this out."

"It's a picture of the dweeb, so what?" said Lee.

"Read the bottom." said Eddy.

Lee quickly read the signature and writing at the bottom of the picture before placing it down on her desk. Sure enough, the word love appeared on it.

"What else ya got that proves that their dating?" asked Lee in a quiet voice.

"Well, one Ed caught Marie headed back to your place on Tuesday night all dolled up like a girl coming home from Double Dees house. That's where we found this picture after she accidentally dropped it. And two, we saw Marie in bed with Double Dee in his room last night in the dark."

The realization hit Lee. Her clever mind put all of the puzzle pieces together in a few seconds. Marie had dyed her hair herself, to make a good impression on Double Dees parents. The blouse and leggings she had seen in the wash were from that night; Marie must have changed out of them to hide them from her. The food that Marie had claimed to have picked up from the town restaurant on the way home with her allowance was actually a gift from Double Dee. It was then that she realized May was acting quite strange the night Marie came home with the food from Double Dees as well. She came to the conclusion that May was in on the secret as well. Lee was quite furious, for many reasons, but most of all, for being lied to and deceived.

"THAT BITCH!" yelled Lee as she pounded her fists on her desk. Eddy and Ed were taken aback. The chaperone of the detention gave 'Ms. Kanker' a warning before returning to grading his papers.

"She was lying to me and going behind my back this whole time, she's lucky I can't go right home after this, or I'd pulverize her." said Lee as she clenched her fists.

"Easy Lee." said Eddy, in a semi nervous tone.

"And you bird brain!" yelled Lee in a whisper, "You should have told your friend to stay away from my sister! She can't be going around bein' attached to one man!"

"Well, tell your sleezy sister to keep her hands off of my friend!" yelled Eddy.

The two remained in silence for a few minutes, groaning in anger. Ed sat confused at the events that were transpiring.

"We have to do something, Eddy." said Lee, Eddy was taken aback that she had actually called him Eddy, instead of short stuff, or a similar nickname to insult his short stature.

"Yeah," said Eddy, "And I know just what to do."

"You're not callin the shots here buddy boy!" said Lee, "I'm in charge!"

"What makes you so high and mighty." said Eddy annoyed.

"Because I am high and mighty, now listen to me before I knock your block off!" said Lee as she made a fist at Eddy's face. Eddy sighed.

"Okay, now here's what we are gonna do. I don't get home till late tonight for certain reasons, but when I do I'm gonna grab May, and get whatever I can out of her." said Lee.

"Why May, what's she got to do with this." said Eddy.

"She knows about it dipshit," said Lee, "I can tell by the way that she's been acting. Marie must have told her behind my back. I just have to get some reassurance that my little theory is correct before I continue on with the plan." Lee sneered

"And what's the plan since your calling all the shots, Einstein" asked Eddy.

"Don't test me pea brain." said Lee before she continued, "When the story checks out, we're gonna grab Marie, tie her to a chair, and take her to the junkyard. You and your idiot friends will do the same for Double Dork. Then, when we're all together, we'll get everything settled right then and there. How's that strike ya."

Eddy was fuming that he couldn't have come up with a plan like that before Lee had beat him to the punch. Nevertheless, he reluctantly agreed to ally with Lee in order to stop what he thought was an abomination.

"Alright, so what time are we doin this?" asked Eddy

"Have him in the junkyard at midnight." said Lee, "That is unless your mommy says you can't be out that late." Lee began laughing.

"Oh I'll be there Lee, we all will don't you worry." replied Eddy.

It seemed like the detention had flown by, and by now it was already time for the kids to make their way home. Lee obviously had to go to work with her mother until around 11:00 that night, but Ed and Eddy were free to do as they pleased. As the group walked out the front door, Lee and the two Eds parted ways.

"Remember, midnight!" said Lee gruffly.

Eddy gave her the thumbs up sign as they parted ways. Thus began a simple truce between the outspoken and rough ginger haired Kanker and the short loudmouthed Ed boy, even though it would only be for one day.

As Ed and Eddy began their walk home, Double Dee was once again preparing for a night with Marie. He had been sure to wash his pajamas he was wearing from the other night in secret, due to them being soiled during the intense time he had with Marie. Double Dee had no idea of the surprise Lee had in store for him and his girlfriend that night. All he could think about was seeing his beautiful angel once again.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

As the Ed boys and Lee were disembarking from their detention, Double Dee was finishing up his shower. He was once again preparing for a beautiful night with Marie, although he was slightly more nervous this time around as May was going to be home with Marie tonight. This night marked the first time Double Dee and Marie could feel free to express themselves as a couple in front of another person.

At the same time Double Dee was freshening himself up, Marie and May were in the bedroom of their trailer home. Marie was wearing a black pleated blouse with leggings under a skirt once again. She was currently applying hairspray to her hair in front of the mirror as May sat on the bed watching her in her usual clothes.

"This stupid piece of hair won't stay!" yelled Marie.

"Calm down Marie, you look good." said May.

"He's gonna be here in five minutes, and I still didn't get my eye shadow on." said an extremely panic stricken Marie.

At the same time, Double Dee was in the trailer park, walking toward the Kankers trailer. He reached the front door and took a deep breath before he knocked in a "shave and a haircut" rhythm.

Marie had just barely finished prepping herself when the girls heard the knock on the door. The sisters glanced at each other upon hearing the noise.

"He's here." said Marie in a quick voice, "Do I look okay?"

"You look fine Marie, I'm gonna go let him in." said May as she opened the door and ran down the stairs.

"May, I'm not ready!" yelled Marie as she quickly continued fixing her eye shadow.

"Well we can't keep him waiting out there in the cold Marie, what are we animals?" said May up the stairs in her nasally voice.

Double Dee, still standing outside the trailer, heard the inner door unlatch, and waited for Maries face to appear from behind it when it opened. He was surprised when he saw May standing with her hand on her hip, smiling at him as if trying to be sexy.

"Hey hot stuff," said May, "Marie's not home tonight, but I'd be willing to show you a good time anyway." she said as she touched her index finger to her lips.

Double Dee stood as stiff as board, speechless and sweating profusely, until May broke the silence once again.

"Oh I'm just playing with you Double Dee," said May smiling, "Marie's upstairs, come on in and make yourself comfortable."

Double Dee slowly inched towards the door.

"Come on I don't bite, what are you waiting for?" she said as she held the screen door open

Double Dee followed her into the trailer and took a seat on the 70's style flower embroidered sofa. This was the first time he had actually noticed the details on the sofa, as the lamps in the living room had been given bulbs since the last time he'd been there. The room now glowed dimly with yellow light from the lamps.

"You want something to drink?" asked May as she began walking out into the kitchen. Both parties felt awkward being around each other, as the two had never been within the same room together on good terms before.

"Sure May," replied Double Dee nervously, "May I please have a glass of water."

"Coming right up." said May, as she walked into the kitchen.

Double Dee had gotten the chance to observe the interior of the trailer in detail for the first time, as there was now an adequate amount of light. He had been in the trailer before during the day a few times, however it was usually during a Kanker attack, a time when he was too distressed to notice details. The living room wall consisted of light brown, 70's style wood paneling. There were several heirlooms hanging on the walls, mostly nautical knick knacks, such as an anchor and various ships in a bottle, including the one that Ed had stolen last summer. The most noticeable knick knack was a giant swordfish that was hanging on the wall above the stairs. There was a book shelf containing various reference books, such as appliance owner's manuals and phone directories. The small, television set that appeared as though it was from the 60's sat on a table in front of the couch. Separating the kitchen from the living room was a small partition of brick that topped off around waist height. The partition jutted out about a quarter of the way into the room, giving one a pretty clear view of the entire kitchen from the couch.

As Double Dee watched May emptying water from the sink faucet into a glass for him, he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs. He turned around and looked up to see Maries face. Her black hair was flared up at the sides, but still retained the side swept bangs that covered her right eye. Although Double Dee had been with her a few times before, he couldn't help but melt once again at her beautiful smile.

"Hi, Double Dee." said Marie in cute voice.

"Hello Marie," said Double Dee with a lump in his throat, he stood up and walked over to her. "You look beautiful." He said while smiling into her eyes.

"And I must say, you are as handsome as always," said Marie as she wrapped her arms around his neck while staring up into his eyes.

"What the hell, I'm gone for five minutes, and you guys are already going at it." said May, jokingly as she walked into the living room with Double Dees glass of water. Double Dee was slightly embarrassed.

"Can it May." yelled Marie, slightly embarrassed herself.

Double Dee retook his seat on the couch, sitting with his legs touching the floor. Marie joined him, sitting on the side of her legs, while leaning into Double Dee, placing her head on his shoulder. May pulled up a chair from the kitchen and placed it in front of the couch. She took a seat on the chair and began making conversation with Marie and Double Dee. As the next few minutes passed the group of three shared laughs and Double Dee was able to loosen up slightly and feel comfortable around May.

"Let's see what's on tonight." said May as she reached for the dial on the television. The television was not compatible with a remote control. May spent a few minutes channel surfing before finding Fifty First Dates, a chick flick. Of course, her mind was set on watching it.

"Here we go," said May, "We can watch this to set the mood."

"Bravo May, you actually picked something right for once." said Marie

May said nothing at the last statement. She merely stuck her tongue out at Marie in a teasing manner as she walked out into the kitchen. Marie returned the favor with a tongue lashing of her own. May opened the kitchen cabinet and pulled out a bag of popcorn. She placed it in the microwave oven and walked back into the living room. Once the popcorn was finished, the three sat down and began enjoying the movie as they snacked. Double Dee couldn't have been a happier young man, sitting with his arm around Marie on her couch. Marie couldn't help but feel like the luckiest girl in the world being in the comfort of Double Dees arms.

As Double Dee and Marie were having the time of their lives, Eddy was standing at Ed's basement room window. The teacher had not called Ed's parents by some stroke of luck, thus he remained free to do as he chose, at this moment, he exercised his right to eat leftover fried chicken on his arm chair while watching Maximum Overdrive, a low budget 80' horror movie that involved tractor trailers coming to life and murdering all who crossed their path; in short the acting was terrible, but Ed loved it. . Eddy entered the window and walked up to where Ed was sitting observing the television.

"Aw come on Ed, not this crap again." said Eddy, groaning.

"Hey Eddy! You're just in time for the part where the steam roller runs over the kid's head." said Ed.

"Whatever lumpy, you're coming with me, we got work to do." said Eddy.

"Wait Eddy, I have to see this part." said Ed.

"You've only seen it about a million times," said Eddy, "How exciting could it be?"

"Oh Eddy, you know that I have only seen it approximately 57 times." replied Ed, surprising Eddy with his vocabulary fluke. Nevertheless, Eddy sighed as he took a seat on Ed's bed, waiting for Ed's favorite part of the movie to pass so that they could go.

In short, Eddy waited fifteen boring minutes and had almost fallen asleep when Ed yelled.

"Ready Eddy!"

"It's about time monobrow!" yelled Eddy as he jumped up off of the bed and began walking toward the window. "Let's go get Kevin and Rolf."

The boys walked down the side walk to Kevins house. They peered through the window to see Kevin and Rolf sitting in the family room of his house playing Xbox. Eddy ran over to the door and rang the doorbell. After a few minutes, Kevin answered his door.

"Hey dork, what's happenin?" said Kevin.

"Nothin much Kev my boy, I just have some news that you would like to hear about our little situation." said Eddy grinning.

"Alright then," Kevin said snickering, "Come on in, Rolf's here too."

Eddy and Ed entered Kevins house and took a seat on the love seat across from the couch Kevin and Rolf were sitting on.

"Alright, so here's the deal." said Eddy, "Me and Ed had detention today, and it just so happened Lee Kanker was there with us. Long story short, we told her about Double Dee and Maries little relationship."

"Uh oh dude," said Kevin, "You treaded dangerous water talking to her." said Kevin.

"Tell me about it." said Eddy

"So what happened?" asked Kevin.

"Well I came up with an ingenious plan." said Eddy. Eddy's pride could not bring him to say that Lee had come up with the plan.

"What's so ingenious about it dork." said Kevin.

"Well, here's what we're gonna do." said Eddy, as he explained the whole operation to Kevin and Rolf

"We meet at his house at 11:45 tonight." said Eddy, "You two will get him out of the house and keep him tied up, while me and Ed comb the room for 'evidence'"

"Sounds like a plan." said Kevin, as he grinned from ear to ear.

Meanwhile, back in the Kankers trailer, Double Dee, Marie, and May continued to watch the movie. Eventually, there was a kissing scene, which gave Marie an idea.

"Hey May," said Marie, "Don't you have to separate the clothes for the wash tomorrow?" she asked.

"No." May said confused, looking at Marie.

"I think you do." said Marie, winking at May and motioning with her head for May to go upstairs. May sat confused for a few more seconds before she realized what Marie was asking of her.

"Oh I get it, you want to make out!" said May in an obnoxious voice.

Double Dees face turned beet red. Marie put her palm into her face.

"Way to point out the obvious Bucky!" yelled Marie.

"Well, excuse me!" said May, Marie gave her an evil glare. "Why don't you take him upstairs so I can still watch my movie!"

"Even better idea." said Marie as she stood up and grabbed Double Dees hand to pull him up with her. Double Dee was still confused about what was going on. The fact that May and Marie were openly discussing making out was embarrassing him. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the fact that he would soon be alone once again with his love.

Marie led Double Dee to the stairs. The couple began ascending the staircase as May turned around and held her hand up, waving her fingers while smiling.

"Have fun you two love birds, just not too much fun." she said. Double Dee blushed as Marie opened the door to the bedroom and flipped the lights on.

Marie closed the door to the room as Double Dee stood in the middle of the floor. Marie moved over to the bed and laid down on one of the three pink pillows that were resting on the top.

"Come here and snuggle with me Oven Mitt," said Marie as she tapped her hand on the bed. Double Dee smiled and walked over to the bed. He laid down on the pillow next to the one that Marie was laying on, placing his hands behind his head. He turned to look into Maries face, but she had already moved over to rest her head on his chest. She simultaneously draped her left leg over his body, so that she was lying on her side. Double Dee moved his arm down and placed it around her shoulder. He felt Marie snuggle even closer to him when he did so. He couldn't help cracking a smile as he stared towards the cigarette smoked stained ceiling tiles above him.

"I missed you so much Double Dee." said Marie in a soothing voice, "even though it's only been one day."

"I missed you dearly as well Marie," said Double Dee as he tightened his embrace momentarily. Marie looked up into his eyes.

"What happened today in the cafeteria that made you run out so fast?" asked Marie as she smiled into his eyes. Double Dee had hoped that she did not see the incident.

"Let's just say that Eddy pulled a little prank that I wasn't happy about." said Double Dee.

"Must have been some prank, you looked like you were gonna hurl your guts up!" said Marie laughing.

"It's so embarrassing, I can't believe that you managed to witness that incident." said Double Dee.

"Hey!" said Marie, "There's nothing that can take my eyes off of that cute face of yours." said Marie, smiling. "Therefore I see all." she giggled

Double Dee looked deeply into his girlfriends eyes. She was so beautiful. He couldn't believe that he was really laying here with her in his arms. It almost felt like a dream.

"I love you so much Marie" he said, as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I love you too, Double Dee." said Marie, with a smile.

Double Dee decided to take the initiative and touch his lips to Maries. Just as he felt Maries, warm, moist lips contact his, he immediately begin a French kiss out of force of habit. After a few seconds of kissing, Marie pulled away.

"Hmm, a little frisky tonight aren't you." she whispered as she grinned at Double Dee, who promptly blushed.

"I'm sorry, Marie, I didn't mean to go too far. Please forgive…." Marie silenced Double Dee with her finger, while simultaneously passing her leg over his body so that she was straddling him once again.

"I like that." said Marie as she touched her lips to Double Dees and began making out with him again. With time, they found themselves in a very similar situation as at Double Dees house. Marie was once again rocking herself back and forth, as she passionately kissed her boyfriend.

In the heat of the moment, Double Dee began moving his hands up under Maries blouse, running his hands up and down her back. He didn't realize that as time went on, his hands crept further and further up, exposing her back as he continued to inadvertently pull the blouse up. He came to realize what he was doing when his hands made contact with the plastic hooks on the back of Marie's bra; at which point he panicked and moved his hands further down. Marie, also in the heat of the moment, chuckled while she continued to kiss him and then pulled away from Double Dee. She sat up, still straddling him but now in a vertical position, her midsection exposed halfway due to Double Dees wandering hands. Marie reached her hands down and crossed her arms before grabbing the bottom of her shirt. Double Dee panicked as Marie lifted her arms, taking her shirt with them. The shirt slid up past her black bra, and eventually passed over her head. Double Dee was completely dumbstruck as Marie threw the shirt onto the floor and leaned back down into him and continued to passionately kiss him on the lips. He replaced his hands onto her back and felt her warm, bare skin instead of the silky blouse which she had previously had on. After a few seconds, Marie yanked Double Dee up off of the bed into a vertical position.

"It just isn't fair ya know?" Marie said with a grin he was all too familiar with. It was the same amorous grin he used to receive from her during her days off stalking him. While in the bottom of his heart, he enjoyed what was presently going on, he knew that he was about to be forced out of his comfort zone.

"Arms up" said Marie, Double Dee obliged without realizing maries intentions. Marie grabbed the bottom of Double Dees shirt, and peeled it off over his head. Double Dee blushed and felt a rush of butterflies through his midsection. Marie tossed the shirt aside and checked Double Dee out. She whistled.

"Much better." she said while chuckling before pinning Double Dee to the bed once again. Marie continued kissing Double Dee as she rocked herself back and forth over him. Double Dee, was especially nervous at this point, although the feeling of Maries bare midsection against his did cause his hormones to take complete control once again.

Regardless of the circumstances, neither Double Dee nor Marie's hormones had the time to initiate the level of ecstasy they have achieved the previous night.

May was downstairs, eating a hotdog that she had just boiled while watching her movie. She was lying on the couch when something caught the corner of her eye from the window. With a quick glance out the window, May spotted a young woman with a haven of ginger curls over her head passing through the construction site. Lee was home, and it was only 10 o clock; she had arrived earlier than expected

May panicked at the sight of her older sister and quickly ran up the stairs. She barged into the bedroom.

"Marie, emergency…" she cut herself off upon seeing Marie and Double Dee both shirtless in a suggestive position. "Oh shit, sorry," she said while shielding her eyes.

Marie simultaneously jumped off of Double Dee and stood up on the side of the bed.

"Jesus Christ May, have you ever heard of knocking!" said an embarrassed Marie, blushing as she scrambled to find her shirt. Poor Double Dee could do nothing but lay in the bed, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Whatever, I'm sorry for busting in, but Lee's coming!" yelled May.

"Oh shit!" said Marie as she scrambled the floor to find both her and Double Dees shirts. "What is she doing home so soon?" asked an annoyed Marie.

"How should I know, but you better amscray Double Dee." said May.

Marie had finally found their shirts, she threw Double Dee his. He promptly put it back on, and stood up off of the bed. Marie walked over to him, still shirtless.

"I'm sorry Double Dee, I didn't want this to happen." said Marie, "Maybe we can hang out tomorrow I'll try my best okay?"

"Okay Marie." said Double Dee, smiling, yet panicking at the same time.

"Okay, just like last time, you can use the window." Marie rushed Double Dee over to the window.

As May stood in the doorway to the room, Marie grabbed Double Dee and kissed him on the lips right in front of her.

"I love you Double Dee." she said as she looked into his eyes.

"I love you too Marie." said Double Dee, smiling back at her. May couldn't help but give a heartfelt smile at the moment she had just witnessed. The sound of the door closing downstairs ended the beautiful moment.

Marie embraced Double Dee before motioning him to go.

"I promise, I'll see you later." said Marie as Double Dee climbed out the window. With one more kiss, and a goodnight, Double Dee had dropped out the window, and was on his way home. The timing couldn't have been more perfect, as Lee had reached the bedroom just as Double Dee had dropped out the window. Lee stared at both of her sisters. Marie stood by the window, shirtless holding her black blouse, while May was standing next to her in the doorway still smiling.

"What the hell is goin on here?" asked Lee.

"I was just getting ready to get a shower when May's big butt busted into the room looking for some dumb magazine." said Marie, obviously telling another fib. Lee knew that something was up by the way both of the girls were acting and from Eddy had told her earlier today.

"Well get in the bathroom, no one wants to see you shirtless." said Lee as she laughed.

"Ahh whatever Lee, your just jealous I actually have a body." said Marie as she walked out of the room.

"Let those mosquito bites grow a little bit before ya say that again." said Lee as Marie entered the bathroom.

"Perfect" Lee thought to herself, "The girl just assisted me and she doesn't even realize it."

Lee waited until she heard Marie turn on the water for her shower before she turned her attention to May. She sat down on the bed grinning.

"May," she said while patting the bed with her palm, "Let's have a little talk, sister to sister, whadya say?"

May wasn't the brightest bulb in Peach Creek, but she knew something was up if Lee wanted to have a sister to sister talk.

"What do you mean Lee?" asked May

Lee lost her patience, she stood up and grabbed Marie by the shoulders slamming her into the wall.

"Alright, May, now you're gonna tell me the truth. I'll get straight to the point, no sugar coating. A little birdy told me that Marie has been playin' hanky panky with Double Dee for the last week. Does that ring a bell in that little pea brain of yours?"

May had no intentions of betraying Marie, as she had put her trust into her.

"Oh my god, Maries been doin' Double Dee?" she said as she placed her hand over her mouth, attempting to act surprised.

"Don't play dumb May, I'm not in the mood." said Lee. "I guess I'll have to get it out of ya the hard way"

Lee grinned has she grabbed Mays hands and formed each of them into a fist. Lee placed her fingers on top of Mays curled up finger nails.

"Last chance May." said Lee. May still couldn't bring herself to say anything.

Lee began squeezing her fingers into Mays balled up fingers, May writhed in agony.

"Still won't tell?" said Lee as she squeezed harder. May kneeled down from the pain. Lee increased the pressure once more time at which point, May broke.

"It's true!" May yelled, "They've been dating, they're in love, she told me the other day."

"In love huh?" asked Lee, as she continued giving May the death grip. "I damn well know that's not all that's been goin' on. Spill it, the pain won't stop till I hear it all."

May felt terrible as she spent the next few minutes telling Lee of Double Dee and Maries nights they spent together, the acting they had done in the lane, and Double Dees synthesis of Crankshaft #5. Lee eventually released May from her grip.

"This is serious May!" yelled Lee, "And I'm pissed that you lied behind my back. I aughta pound ya right now, but you're lucky I need your help.

"Help with what?" May said angrily, as she caressed her wrists.

Lee explained the entire plan to May, including the fact that she was working in cahoots with Eddy. May was furious inside, as she had actually enjoyed Marie being able to share secrets with her and treat her like a real sister for once in their life. She had no problem with Marie dating Double Dee. Nevertheless, to avoid conflict, and out of fear of Lee, she was forced to take Lee's side; she could only hope that Marie would understand.

"Alright, now when Deadeye Darling gets out of the shower, you are not to say a word about this." said Lee. May obliged with a shake of her head.

The two girls didn't speak another word to each other until Marie had finished her shower. Marie, unaware that May had just confirmed her relationship with Double Dee to Lee, went downstairs and spent the rest of her night watching TV with her sisters. Before she knew it, it was time for bed, and she and the rest of the cul-de-sac climbed into their cozy beds for yet another night of well deserved sleep. As both Double Dee and Marie were comforted by thoughts of each other, the Ed's and the remaining Kanker sisters were preparing for their midnight strike.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

It was around fifteen minutes to midnight, and Marie had been sleeping peacefully in her bed for around an hour. Being completely immersed in her dreams, Marie had not realized her two sisters had faked sleep and quietly climbed out of the bed. The two girls were currently downstairs in the living room, discussing their plan once again.

"Alright May, now when I grab her, your gonna have to help me get her down here." said Lee. "I'll get the chains that are holdin' the trailer down and you're gonna use them to tie her up. I doubt anyone's gonna try to steal this piece of shit, so theres no harm that they'll be off for while. While I'm out there, you get the duct tape and something to shove in her big mouth."

"Okay." said May rather reluctantly.

"It's time to end this once and for all." said Lee snickering as she walked toward the back door. She turned to May before she walked out the back door.

May stood contemplating her actions. She felt horribly wrong for betraying her sister, and honestly wanted nothing to do with this whole sting operation that Lee had cooked up. May was not the smartest person when it came to academics, or even common sense; but she knew she had to help her sister, and she thought as hard as she could to come up with a way to do it.

A few months ago, Rod came over, unhooked the trailer and used his truck to move it out of the way for utility workers to access a broken pipe. From watching her father unhook the chains, she knew that it would take Lee at least 10 minutes to unhook and pull the whole length of the heavy iron chain, possibly longer as she didn't have as much strength to lift it. She knew she would have enough time to act.

The blonde Kanker sister reached into the kitchen drawer and pulled out a pen. She quickly grabbed a piece of paper from the kitchen counter and proceeded to write a note, attempting to disguise her handwriting:

Marie,

I had a good time tonight, I would really like to see you again real soon. Let's meet up by the creek so we can talk again. I think we should meet around mid knight tonight. I can't wait to see u again.

Love, Edd

Although the gesture came from a kind heart, Mays vocabulary, spelling ability, or command of language in general was nowhere near Double Dees to make the note seems convincing. She could only hope that this would at least work long enough to help Marie.

May glanced out the kitchen window to make sure that Lee was preoccupied. Sure enough, Lee was underneath the trailer, cursing up a storm as she struggled to unlock the padlock that held the chains together.

May ran up the stairs and into the bedroom proceeding to run over to the bed and shake Marie violently.

"Marie, Marie!" yelled May, Marie roused up and looked up at May.

"What are ya doin May, it's freakin' fifteen minutes to midnight." said Marie

"You gotta get outta here Marie!" said May, "Lee knows about you and Double Dee."

"WHAT!" yelled Marie, now completely alert, "But how?"

"She met up with Eddy in detention and apparently Eddy saw you two in Double Dees room last night through the window." said May.

"Oh shit!" said Marie

"Lee and Eddy are working together. You gotta get out of here and warn Double Dee. Lee is out back under the trailer taking the chains off and she's gonna use them to tie you up in a chair. Eddy is doing the same to Double Dee" said May.

"To hell she is!" said Marie as she jumped out of bed angered.

"Go!" yelled May as she pushed Marie toward the stairs. Marie, in her pajamas and in bare feet quickly slipped into a pair of bedroom slippers and began walking towards the door. She turned around and hugged May tightly for a split second.

"Thanks May, you're really putting yourself in hot water by doing this." said Marie.

"Don't worry about me, just go get Double Dee and tell him." said May.

As the two girls stood near each other for a few seconds, Lee's voice filled the air.

"May, get out here and pull this chain while I work on the other one." She yelled.

With that, Marie ran downstairs and out the front door. May quickly placed the letter that she had in the pocket of Maries jean that were laying on the floor, in such a way that it was partially visible. She then ran back downstairs and joined Lee outside underneath the trailer.

Marie ran as quickly as she could through the construction site and bolted down the cross street to Double Dees house. She crossed the Rathink Avenue cul-de-sac, and ran into Double Dees alley. When she reached the backyard, she didn't hesitate to climb the drain pipe and enter his bedroom window. She ran over to his bed.

"Double Dee, Double Dee!" she yelled while shaking him. Double Dee roused, and looked up at Marie.

"Marie, what a surprise." said a groggy Double Dee, who had now began to think that it couldn't be further from the truth when Marie said he had to expect the unexpected from her.

"Double Dee, they all know about us!" said Marie in a serious tone.

"I beg your pardon?" asked Double Dee as he rose out of bed.

"Eddy saw us the other night in here through the window and told Lee. They have this whole plan where they were gonna bring us together by tying us up and taking us to the junkyard." said Marie.

"Wait, Eddy is working in conjunction with Lee?" said a surprised Double Dee.

"Yes, I don't know how, all's I know is what May told me." said Marie.

"Oh no, we're exposed!" said Double Dee as he put his face into his palms.

"Calm down Oven Mitt." said Marie rather calmly.

"Marie, they are sure to cause trouble, I don't see Eddy taking this with a grain of salt." said Double Dee panicking.

"I don't see Lee accepting this either, Double Dee," said Marie, "But being with you is more important to me than her acceptance."

Marie put her hand on Double Dees shoulder, Double Dee smiled at her.

"It's going to have to be the other way around," said Marie, "They're just gonna have to get used to us seeing other."

Double Dee continued to smile into his girlfriends eyes.

"I agree, Angel." said Double Dee, Marie smiled whole heartedly at his face.

"Your friends will be here to get you in a few minute, and Lee is bound to discover I'm gone and throw a hissy fit." said Marie.

"What do we do now?" asked Double Dee.

"We do the only thing we can do." said Marie, "Go out there and tell the truth."

Double Dee was speechless.

"We'll just go out there, tell them we love each other, and do not plan on ending our relationship. They'll just have to deal with it." said Marie, she looked at Double Dee and grinned.

"Marie, are you sure that's the best course of action?" asked Double Dee.

Marie stood up in front of Double Dee who was sitting on the edge of his bed. She sat down on his lap and draped both of her arms around his neck staring up into his eyes. She leaned in closely to his ear.

"They were bound to find out sometime cutie." said Marie in a whisper, "I think it's time we stop hiding and go public."

Double Dee was not ashamed of being with Marie, his reason for not going public was due to how his friends would react. Marie's statement hit home with him; what did he care if his friends accepted the relationship or not. He loved Marie, because HE did, and didn't care what anyone thought about it.

"I concur Marie," said Double Dee, "It's time."

Marie smiled and kissed her boyfriend for what would be the last time in private. Interestingly, the clock was about to strike midnight Friday morning; their relationship was due to officially go public exactly one week from the date that Marie and Double Dee had begun it, although it would be around another 22 or so hours before the actual time they official declared themselves an item.

"Come on sweetie, let's go find them." Said Marie as she grabbed the nervous Double Dee and led him down the stairs to the front door, she turned around to smile at him again.

"No more drainpipe." she said snickering, Double Dee bounced a quick smile at her. Marie opened the front door and grabbed Double Dees hand in a laced finger hold before leading him down the path through his lawn.

"Double Dee, doesn't it feel good being able to hold hands while walking down the street?" asked Marie.

Double Dee hesitated before he turned and smiled at Marie once again.

"Yes, Marie, it feels like heaven." He said, as Marie stared dreamily into his eyes.

Meanwhile, back in the Park n' Flush trailer park, Lee and May had successfully yanked the large and heavy chain that was intended to tie down the trailer into the kitchen. The girls dropped it on the kitchen floor producing a loud audible clanking sound.

"Alright, it's almost time." said Lee as she grabbed a kitchen chair. "This chair will do."

May could only hope that Marie had come up with a better plan that might ease this situation in some way as Lee motioned her up the stairs.

"Let's go wake our dear sweet sister up." said Lee as she snickered sarcastically, May followed her up the stairs.

The girls reached the top of the stairs and walked up to the bedroom door. Lee motioned for May to be quiet as she pushed the door open and flicked the switch for the lights. To Lee's dismay, Marie was not in the bed where she had just seen her around a half hour ago. She was furious.

"Where the hell is she!" yelled Lee.

"She was just here 20 minutes ago!" yelled May, attempting to act surprised.

With a quick glance around the room, Lee's eyes made contact with the phony letter that May had planted in Marie's jeans.

"Hmm what have we here?" said Lee as she picked the letter up, which had the word Ed written on the front of it.

"It looks like some kind of note from Double Dee." said May, attempting to play into Lee's game. What she failed to realize is that Lee had already discovered that it was May who wrote the letter. May had written Ed with a single D on the front of the letter, forgetting that the letter was for Marie, and letting her own crush on her 'Big Ed' confuse her thoughts. Nevertheless Lee read the note, after which she crumbled it up and threw it at the wall.

"Nice try May." said Lee calmly. May instantly froze. "But I don't think that Double Dee is having an affair with Big Ed." she said jokingly and angrily.

"Where is she!" Lee suddenly yelled into Mays face.

"How am I supposed to know, Lee!" yelled May.

Lee groaned, "I don't need you anyway!" said Lee as she ran down the stairs, "I'm gonna deal wit this myself, and when I get back, both of ya are gonna get it." yelled Lee as she slammed the front door of the trailer shut.

May quickly grabbed her coat and ran down the stairs. She exited through the front door in pursuit of her sister.

The Eds, Kevin and Rolf were in the lane preparing for their assault on Double Dee under the cover of darkness. Eddy, Kevin and Rolf were all wearing black sweaters, attempting to be stealth, while Ed dressed in his normal clothes, donning a pair of pantyhose over his head. Rolf had painted red war markings under his eyes that "represented the blood of all of his ancestors who vanquished in the battle of 1000 yams."

"Alright, now remember the plan." said Eddy, as he grinned, "Let's do it!"

The group of boys began walking towards the intersection of the lane and the cross street. Just as they reached the exit, Eddy bumped into an extremely angry Lee Kanker, forcing her to stumble slightly.

"You're lucky I was lookin' for ya." said Lee as she leaned into Eddys face, "Cause if anyone else bumped into me right now I'd have to knock their block off."

"What are ya doing here?" asked Eddy, "Why aren't you getting Marie?"

"You don't think I tried to?" said Lee, "That's why I'm here, May opened her big mouth, and now we got ourselves a runaway."

"What!" yelled Eddy. At this point May had caught up and joined the group.

"Well go find her, and we'll go get Double Dee." said Eddy.

"Hey, you don't give the orders shrimp, you take em' from me!" yelled Lee.

Just as Eddy was about to retort, the whole group heard the sound of footsteps walking toward them. They turned around to see Double Dee and Marie walking down the cross street holding hands towards where they were standing. Marie had a serious, stern look on her face, while Double Dee was less than enthusiastic to be looking directly into Lee and Eddy's angry faces.

"Well, well, lookie here Eddy?" said Lee, "We didn't even have to track our lovebirds down. They came right to us."

Eddy was completely furious as he ran up to Double Dee.

"Double Dee, what are ya doin?" yelled Eddy, "Do ya realize that you're holdin' hands with Marie Kanker."

"I am quite aware of that Eddy," replied Double Dee nervously, "I am holdi….." Double Dee attempted to continue his sentence before Marie placed her hand over his mouth.

"Alright, here's the deal." said Marie aggressively, "Me and Double Dee are dating."

The entire group of kids stood shocked at Marie's boldness, May couldn't help but smile and feel proud for Marie for her bravery.

"No shit Sherlock." yelled Eddy, "The question is how the hell did this happen."

"Double Dee has been cursed Eddy!" yelled Ed.

"I don't care how it happened, or why it happened," said Lee, "I'm just here to make sure it doesn't happen anymore."

"And it's going to continue happening whether you like it or not Lee!" shouted Marie at Lee.

"Double Dee, come on man." said Eddy, "She's a Kanker."

"And just what is it you got to say about us Kankers, buddy boy!" yelled Lee as she got in Eddy's face.

"What I'm trying to say, is to keep you're stupid sleazy sister away from my best friend, he's too good for her!" yelled Eddy.

"Oh yeah, you men are all the same, as far as I'm concerned, Marie is too good for him!" yelled Lee. "

The rest of the kids watched as Eddy and Lee bickered.

"Uh oh, looks like we got a domestic issue here Rolf." said Kevin, bumping Rolf in the elbow after which he and Rolf laughed.

"Come on Marie, we're outta here. I'm not gonna let you fall for this guy only for him to hurt ya!" yelled Lee.

"He's not gonna hurt me!" yelled Marie, "I trust him, Lee. I love him!"

All of the kids except May busted out in laughter at Maries last statement.

"Oh my god, did you just here that!" yelled Eddy, "How cute, Double Dee and Marie are in love!"

Eddy laughed even harder, with all of the rest of the kids joining him.

"Oh hell no!" yelled Lee, "That tears it Marie, this stops here."

"I never asked for your approval Lee!" yelled Marie, snarling at her sister.

"Marie, don't push me!" yelled Lee.

"I don't have time for this!" said Marie.

At that moment, Marie grabbed Double Dee in a hug, and kissed him on the lips while embracing him passionately, marking the first time that the couple had kissed in public, and the first time Double Dee had willingly kissed a girl in public. The kiss had felt so great to Double Dee that he had forgotten about his surroundings only focusing on Marie's beautiful smiling face. Marie leaned into Double Dee and whispered.

"I have to go get some beauty sleep now cutie. I'll see you tomorrow in school, what do ya say we eat lunch together tomorrow?"

"I would like nothing more Marie." said Double Dee.

Marie smiled and kissed Double Dee on the cheek. "I love you Double Dee."

"I love you too Marie," said Double Dee.

The couple said goodnight to each other after which Marie began walking down the cross street towards the trailer park. Double Dee began making his way back to his house. The rest of the crowd stood shocked in silence.

"Where do ya think your goin' Marie?" said Lee.

"Where do ya think, I'm goin home!" said Marie. She did not turn around to speak to her sister as she kept walking. However, she did raise her hand into the air, her middle finger being the only finger that wasn't contracted.

"That finger's gonna be broken when I get home!" yelled Lee loudly down the street as Marie turned the corner to the construction site.

"Yo Sock Head where are ya goin', we ain't through with ya yet!" yelled Eddy angrily.

"Eddy," said Double Dee as he turned around, "I believe that we had discussed what has been intended to be discussed. Marie has made it perfectly clear already that we are in a relationship and really enjoy each other's company. I can only hope that as my friend, you will be happy that I have found a girl who truly likes me for who I am."

Double Dee paused before continuing on his way.

"I'll see you gentleman tomorrow in school." he said as he rounded the corner to the cul-de-sac.

"Be that way then, it's no skin off my nose if you're dating a Kanker!" yelled Eddy. "Come on boys, let's go there's no getting through to this guy!"

Eddy turned to Lee.

"Nice plan!" he yelled, "They just totally blew us off!"

"Hey don't blame me midget man, blame this bucked tooth sister I have!" shouted Lee pointing to May.

"Shut up Lee!" said May, "Don't be mad that your stupid plan failed. Anyway, I'm going home too!"

May stormed away from Lee and began walking toward the trailer park.

"You can run but you can't hide wide load!" yelled Lee.

Lee waited for May to turn the corner before she turned to Eddy. She leaned into his face.

"Tell them all to leave, I need to talk to ya alone." said Lee.

"Why should I listen to you, you just made things worse." said Eddy.

Lee turned to the group of kids.

"ALL OF YOU GO HOME NOW!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, frightening all of the kids, and especially Eddy who was still standing directly in front of her. The kids obliged, and began walking toward the cul-de-sac.

"Good luck Eddy." said Kevin laughing, "You're gonna need it!"

"I always have to do everything myself around here." mumbled Lee to herself.

Eddy was in quite a vulnerable state right now. He was alone, at night with Lee; she could easily overpower him and do whatever she wanted with him. Fortunately for Eddy, that was currently not on her mind, as she had more important issues to worry about.

"Alright shrimp, I got an even better plan to get them two away from each other." said Lee.

"Oh really, what's your genius plan now." said Eddy.

"We're gonna let them be together." said Lee snickering.

"Wow that's great, must have taken ya all night to come up with that." replied Eddy.

"Just stop those big lips from flabbing and listen to me for five minutes. Jesus it's like that big mouth never shuts." said Lee

Eddy silenced himself from making a comeback as it would only back up Lee's previous statement about him.

"Alright squirt, we're gonna play into them. Let them play the Hanky Panky for a few days. What would you say if I told ya that in a few days, something happened that caused their relationship to go down the toilet. Ya know, something that happened completely by coincidence" said Lee as she lifted a tuft of hair out of her left eye, and winked at Eddy.

Eddy caught on to what Lee was getting at. He couldn't help being furious once again due to him not coming up with the plot before Lee did.

"Oh I get ya!" said Eddy grinning. Lee snickered back with him.

"So whatdya have in mind?" asked Eddy.

Lee and Eddy continued their talk for around fifteen minutes, brainstorming ideas for their sinister plot.

As Double Dee tucked himself back into his bed, still shaken up from the incident, he couldn't help but feel like a huge burden was lifted off of his chest. He had finally been able to show his love for Marie, and although he had trouble with public displays of affection, he felt as though he could get used to the idea. He laid in his bed staring up at the ceiling, hoping that by some stroke of luck, his friends would find it in their heart to cease harassing him and Marie. Little did he know that the eldest Kanker sister and his best friend Eddy were currently concocting a sinister plan to attempt to turn the happy couple against eachother.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

It was 30 minutes since Double Dee had walked away from all of the commotion on the cross street. As much as he tried, sleep would simply not come to him. He was proud that he was finally able to publically declare his affections toward Marie, however he was not satisfied with the outcome of the incident. He did not want any hard feelings between he and Eddy, as he saw Eddy as one of his best friends; but he most certainly wasn't going to give up his amazing relationship with Marie to please him. As he lay awake thinking of the circumstances he was faced with, he could only hope that Eddy could somehow find it in his heart to accept he and Marie's relationship. Perhaps if Eddy could only get to know the real Marie, he would think differently.

Eventually, Double Dee realized that he had to use the bathroom. He slid out from under his covers, and slid his feet into his bedroom slippers. He walked down the dark hall and into his bathroom. He was slightly blinded when he flipped the light switch as his eyes were adjusted to the darkness.

The bathroom décor consisted of a blue tiled floor and sky blue tiling that extended halfway up the walls, after which white wallpaper continued up to the ceiling. Double Dee's father had just finished renovating it into its current configuration. After Double Dee finished relieving himself, he finished up by washing his hands in the sink. As he did so, he glanced out the window that presented a view towards the back of the house.

Double Dee was instantly reminded of Marie as he stared out the window at the abandoned Kanker mansion that was located a little ways behind his house on the cross street. The brown side paneling on the house was peeling off in places, revealing white undercoating that was accented by the street light.

Double Dee looked closely at the balcony of the house and noticed a human figure sitting on the concrete ground. The figure was curled up in a fetal position, but he instantly recognized the hair and clothes that the person was wearing. It was Marie, and she was sitting outside in the cold all by herself wearing nothing but her pajamas.

Double Dee returned to his bedroom as grabbed his coat, being sure to grab an extra one out of his closet. He made his way downstairs and out the front door of the house. As he opened the door, the bone chilling wind hit his face; he was sure Marie was freezing being just in her pajamas.

He made his way around the corner and to the front yard of the mansion. After walking up the decrepit concrete path, he proceeded to push open the already cracked door, still missing its door knob assembly from when Eddy managed to get it caught on his finger. Double Dee reminisced on how it took them hours to figure out how to get it off. Eddy's dad eventually had to use his Dremel to saw through the metal until it was thin enough to break the rest off. Double Dee chuckled remembering how Eddy was frightened beyond belief that the saw was within centimeters of his finger, as his father called him a sissy for complaining.

Double Dee made his way into the dark foyer, which was somewhat illuminated by light from the street light entering through the window. There was a large stone mantle that contained a fireplace on the left side of the room. Directly across from it on the right side next to the stairs, there was a door to a medium sized room that was located in a small wing to the right of the house. Double Dee peered into the room as he walked up the stairs. The room was lined with tattered purple wall paper that had pink wavy stripes, and an indigo rug that appeared to be extremely worn. The room was otherwise empty except for a small vanity, which had music box resting on top of it, and a few old dolls. The room seemed to have once been a playroom of sorts for a little girl.

Double Dee made his way up the stairs and towards the door to the balcony. Both the door to the staircase and the door to the balcony were cracked open slightly. As Double Dee approached the top of the creaky wooden stairs, he began to hear the sounds of sobbing. He quickly pushed the door open and peered around the corner. Leaning on the same wall as they were a few nights ago was Marie. She was curled up with her knees to her chest, and had her eyes buried in the palms of her hands, crying. She was also shivering from the cold air, as all she was wearing were her red plaid pajama pants, and an oversized t-shirt. Double Dee was distraught to see his girlfriend so upset.

"Marie?" said Double Dee, as he opened the door completely. Marie looked up.

"Double Dee?" asked Marie. Both of her eyes were exposed. They were both red and puffy, as tears flowed vigorously from them. "How did you know I was here?"

"I saw you from my bathroom window." said Double Dee as he placed the coat he brought with him around her shoulders. "Come on, let's get you out of this cold weather. We can go back to my house and enjoy some hot chocolate. Then if you want, you can tell me what's bothering you. " said Double Dee as he put his hand out for Marie to take. Marie took his hand and stood up. She smiled at Double Dee, although tears were still falling down her face.

"I would really like that Double Dee." said Marie as she looked into Double Dees eyes while she swept her hair over her right eye.

Double Dee led Marie down the stairs and back onto the second floor balcony. The couple proceeded down the curved staircase, holding hands all along the way. As they approached the bottom of the stairs, Double Dee's eyes were drawn into the playroom once again, particularly to the music box sitting on the vanity.

"Marie, if you don't mind me asking, does that music box belong to your family?" asked Double Dee as he pointed into the room. The couple made a quick stop in the room. Marie walked over to the box.

"I have never noticed this was here before Double Dee." said Marie as she opened the top of the pink, treasure-chest shaped box. Immediately, a silver ballerina figurine that appeared to be spinning on one toe with its arms up over its head rose out of the box, and began rotating to a cheerful tune. Double Dee recognized the tune from his adventure in the house last summer. Ed must have inadvertently activated the music box when he jostled the floorboard while trying to free Eddy from the door.

"My mom always talked about how much she loved some music box with a silver ballerina. She would say how she wanted to be a dancer when she was a little girl, and how she wanted to spin just like the girl in the pink box." said Marie, "She said she would dance for hours, pretending in front of the mirror in her room, trying to imitate the girls that she saw on tv."

Marie paused for a few seconds, while she closed the music box and picked it up in her arms.

"She told us that my Poppy was going to surprise her on her tenth birthday with ballet classes, but they fell into hard times financially. Long story short, she was never able to receive her dance lessons."

Marie paused once again as she stared at the dusty box.

"That was one of the only things she has ever told us about her childhood." said Marie "I guess her dream of being a ballet dancer was very important to her."

Double Dee couldn't help but feel bad for Ms. Kanker as he heard the story. He had never even thought that someone that had as hard of a life as the Kanker sister's mother once was a little girl with great hopes and dreams for her future.

"She used to always talk about the box, and how she missed the tune that it played when she opened it. She said she couldn't remember whatever happened to it. This must be it, they left it here by mistake when they moved to the city." said a relatively excited Marie.

"I have actually heard that tune before." said Double Dee smiling, "Ed jostled the floorboards while we were trying to free Eddy from the confines of the door knob when we were here last summer, and must have opened the box momentarily. It literally scared me to high heaven." said Double Dee as he chuckled. Marie chuckled back at him.

"I'm going to take this home and surprise my mom with it." said Marie.

"From what you have told me, I am absolutely sure that she will enjoy that Marie." said Double Dee. Marie placed the music box hand her arm and hugged Double Dee.

"I am so happy that I have a very observant and curious boyfriend." said Marie, as she smiled at him, her eyes still appeared to be puffy from her earlier crying spell. "I've been here a million times and have never even noticed this."

Double Dee smiled as he and Marie walked out the door back into the cold air. The couple made their way down the cross street, with the music box tucked under Maries left arm while she held Double Dees hand with the other hand. They made their way up the path to Double Dees house and entered the front door. Neither Double Dee nor Marie had to worry about being out so late due to Double Dees and Marie's parents working .

Double Dee opened the door and flicked the lights on. He took Maries coat and led her to the couch in his living room situated directly across from the fire place.

"Why don't we make ourselves some hot chocolate." said Double Dee.

"That would be lovely Double Dee." said Marie as she followed Double Dee out into the kitchen.

It was now a few minutes after 1:00 a.m. and Double Dee and Marie had finished brewing their hot chocolate. Marie was sitting on the couch, sipping the hot beverage while Double Dee fiddled with the fireplace.

"Let's see if I remember how to do this." said Double Dee.

Marie watched as Double Dee placed crumbled up pieces of paper in the center of the fireplace, after which he laid kindling on top of it. He then placed a log that was adjacent to the hearth on top of all of the materials he had just previously placed in the hearth. He grabbed a match and lit the paper on fire. It didn't take long for Double Dee to create a nice orange glowing flame.

"I was successfully able to…." said Double Dee. He was never able to finish his sentence as he hit his head on the top of the hearth as he attempted to stand back up. Marie chuckled at Double Dees little slip up; Double Dee couldn't help but crack a smile.

"I am aware that it's a school night," said Double Dee as he walked over toward Marie, "But after all of that senseless drama, I am simply too shaken up to sleep."

Double Dee sat down on the couch next to Marie. He felt completely comfortable around Marie at this point and without even thinking about it, placed his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"I know tell me about it." said Marie, as she leaned her head onto Double Dees shoulder, while watching the fire. "Then again, I didn't expect anything less than a negative reaction from Lee either."

Marie paused for a few seconds.

"And it really went bad when Lee finally came home." said Marie.

"What happened?" asked a concerned Double Dee.

"Well, I came in and went right upstairs to get back into bed. I was so upset about all of this fighting, that I couldn't help but break down and cry. May came in shortly after I entered the bedroom, and sat there with me comforting me." said Marie.

"That certainly is a nice thing to do for a sister," said Double Dee.

"I am so glad to at least have her to help me through this." said Marie, "After a few minutes, the front door slammed open, and Lee came storming up the stairs to the bedroom. Long story short, a huge fight broke out, and hurtful words were said. At one point, Lee slapped May across the face, and May began to cry. I couldn't take it anymore. I tackled Lee and we both started going at it. Eventually, she managed to overpower me, and threw me out the front door. She told me she didn't want to see me for the rest of the night. So I went to my grand fathers house, and that's where you found me."

Marie sat in silence before tears began running down her face once again. She buried her head into Double Dees chest as she let her emotions free, putting all of her complete trust into her boyfriend.

"Marie, I'm sure they would let you back in if you returned to your trailer." said Double Dee as he embraced her, stroking her hair.

"I know." said a distraught Marie, "It's not that, I just don't understand why it is so hard for Lee to accept us being together. And it doesn't help that the girl shows absolutely no emotion, so talking to her is liking talking to a brick wall!" yelled Marie.

Double Dee was silent as he stroked his girlfriends back as she cried into his chest.

"I don't know anything about Lee Double Dee." said Marie, as she looked up into his eyes. "My own sister is like a complete stranger to me. She has never shared any secrets with us or gave us any girlie advice or did any of that other stuff normal sisters are supposed to do."

Marie paused.

"I had at least been slightly closer to May than Lee prior to having the conversation with her the other night." said Marie "I know all of us had had hard lives, but at least me and May are willing to talk about our problems to each other. I know that Lee has intense emotions bottled up inside of her, she is just so afraid to show them for some reason. I thought I was bad, acting like a bully, and torturing you. I can't believe some of the things Lee does."

"She is quite an intimidating person." said Double Dee snickering, Marie managed to chuckle back at him.

"It just hurts me that I have been living with her all my life and know nothing about her. We somewhat looked at her as a second mother because she would be the one that would get us up for school when we were little girls, and make sure May brushed her teeth and got dressed properly in the morning. She would do this even though she was only seven years old. That's a lot of responsibility for a kid if you think about it Double Dee."

Double Dee had never thought that Lee would take on those kind of roles for her sisters. He had always thought that the gruff and domineering Lee would have bullied her little sisters and made their life miserable.

"Lee is not a bad person," said Marie, "She had to take so much responsibility as a kid, it's no wonder she is so angry at the world."

Marie paused once again and looked into Double Dees eyes.

"I just wish that she would let loose and talk about her problems with me and May. We would have no problem comforting her with anything she wanted to talk about. It's better than her lashing out at the world and creating enemies. I can't figure out why, but Lee seriously hates men, and believes the same ideas about them as my mother does. She has never had a boyfriend that hurt her, although she has 'seen' many guys if you catch my drift."

Double Dee was astounded at Marie's words. He could see the underlying cause of Lee's extremely antisocial behavior was due to taking on too many responsibilities at an early age.

"Double Dee, I have to thank you." said Marie as she snuggled closer to him.

"Whatever for Marie." said Double Dee.

"I have to thank you always being there for me, and letting me talk to you about all of my stupid problems." said Marie as she smiled at him.

"Hey you." He said, "Nothing I hear come out of your mouth is stupid Marie. I'll always be here for you."

"I am so glad I met you." said Marie, "I knew you were one-of-a-kind when I was watching you from afar last summer. You always treated others with respect, even when they were mean to you, and remained polite, even when Eddy had you on your last nerve. It was you that inspired me to change. You helped me see that people in the world do care."

Marie looked up into Double Dees eyes smiling.

Double Dee was stunned at Marie's words.. He could not believe Marie had gone through life feeling this way. Marie grabbed his face and turned it into hers.

"And I am so happy to be loved by a guy as great as you Double Dee." said Marie, making Double Dee smile.

"And I'm so glad to love a girl as great as you Marie." said Double Dee, after which they shared a quick kiss.

The couple sat in silence watching the fire for a few minutes before Marie broke the silence chuckling.

"It was kinda funny what May said that got Lee so angry that she hit her." said Marie.

"What did she say?" asked Double Dee smiling.

"She started yelling about how she was renouncing her 'sistership' to Lee, and how her last name isn't even Kanker." said Marie laughing. Double Dee laughed at Marie's statement. "She was really going off the deep end!" yelled Marie trying to hold back a laugh.

"Wait," said Double Dee, "May's last name is not Kanker?"

"Technically no." said Marie, "She took my Dads last name. Her birth certificate says Annamae Lynn Lonergan, but my mom filled out all of the school papers as Kanker to make easier on her, as her and my Dad already broke up by the time May started school."

Marie paused.

"If you ask me, she's lucky she doesn't have our mom's last name." said Marie as she laughed.

"Can you remember your Dad living with you?" asked Double Dee.

"I can." replied Marie, "He isn't a bad guy, he did some wrong things to my mom that I'm not particularly proud of him for, but at least he stayed in his daughter's lives, not like Lee's coward of a father. I think the same way about Bubba, because he probably wouldn't have wanted me, even if he found out I existed."

Marie paused.

Marie and Double Dee sat in silence for a few more minutes. Marie didn't want to keep dragging on about her life, so she seized the moment to bring a lighter tone to the conversation. She grabbed the music box that was sitting the coffee table and opened it.

"So this little girlie melody actually scared you and you're friends?" asked Marie as she giggled.

"What!" said Double Dee laughing, "It surprised me, what else can I say?"

"What were you thinking when we finally got you down to the basement and you saw us in the wedding veils?" asked Marie.

"I was thinking about jumping out of that trash can and kissing you even before Lee recited the vows." said Double Dee, joking with Marie. Marie slapped him playfully.

"The one time my Oven Mitt loosens up and jokes, it has to be when I want to ask a serious question." said Marie as she smiled. To two shared a laugh before Double Dee intervened.

"Marie, I have a few questions that have puzzled me and my friends about that day." said Double Dee.

"Well don't keep me in suspense cutie." said Marie, "Ask away."

"Well first, how did you manage to know that we would be in the house that very day for you to set up all of the traps?" asked Double Dee.

"I'm afraid that's top secret Kanker classified information." said Marie, smiling. Double Dee's naivety had no idea whether she was joking or not. He was relieved when she continued.

"Well each of us set up the traps for our respective 'boyfriend' using things that we knew you guys were interested in. Lee used money, May used food, and I used books. We had set the traps up a few days before that, and were planning to do something so we could lure you into the house the next day to put the plan into action."

Marie paused before she continued.

"By some coincidence, and stroke of luck on our part, I happened to be hanging out in the upstairs library, putting the finishing touches on your trap. Then, as I walked toward the open window, I heard that little kid with the headgear that hangs out with Ed's sister scream and say that a 'dark figure just cast a shadow in the window'"

"So it was you that Jimmy saw!" said Double Dee.

"Yes, I quickly ducked down and continued listening to the conversation. Someone brought up the idea that the house was haunted, and then you guys showed up. I heard Kevin dare Eddy for you guys to go into the house to investigate. I knew that Eddy would not pass up the opportunity, so I went downstairs and mobilized the girls. I think you know the rest of the story."

"I most certainly do Marie." said Double Dee chuckling.

"Any other questions love?" asked Marie.

"Yes, how did you possibly get Ed in his barrel? We questioned and pestered him about it and he just says he doesn't remember. Typical of Ed though." said Double Dee as he laughed.

"May lured him onto the dumbwaiter with a box of Chunky Puffs cereal. After she felt his weight tug in the rope, she pulled him up to the upstairs bedroom. While he was immersed in eating his food, she took his hand, lead him out into the hallway and told him to get in the barrel. Piece of cake." said Marie chuckling.

"That sounds like something that would happen to Ed." said Double Dee smiling, "Alright, my third and final question. Did Lee really anticipate Eddy getting his finger stuck in the doorknob and being able to pass it off as his wedding ring?"

Marie laughed.

"No she didn't," said Marie, "She was going to use the socket end of a small wrench to fit around his finger, but she decided to play it smooth and claim that he had already found his ring."

Marie and Double Dee laughed together for a few seconds.

"We're good, but were not that good." said Marie smiling, as Double Dee chuckled.

The two sat in silence for a while, after finishing their last statement.

"We've come a long way Double Dee." said Marie, "Just last September, I had to bribe and blackmail you in order for you to say that I was your girlfriend." Marie began laughing.

"We have come a long way Marie," replied Double Dee. "And I am so glad that we have." He said smiling into her eyes.

"I love you Marie." said Double Dee, as he touched his hand to her face.

"I love you too Double Dee." said Marie as she stared dreamily at Double Dees face.

The two shared a gentle kiss on the couch for a few minutes and then resumed talking about past memories and making jokes. Before they knew it, they had talked the entire night away and the sun was beginning to rise over Peach Creek.

"My goodness," said Double Dee, "I had so much fun talking with you that we have once again lost track of time."

"I guess we can say goodbye to a good night's sleep." said Marie laughing.

"I suppose we can." said Double Dee as he got up off of the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "Seeing as its morning, what do you say I make us breakfast?"

"Sounds good to me, I'm starving." said Marie

The couple spent the next half hour cooking and eating breakfast, sharing laughs and smiles together. Marie and Double Dee were in a seemingly flawless relationship. They trusted one another and their conflicting personalities balanced each other out perfectly. After they had finished breakfast, they decided that they would travel together to school early to avoid potential conflict. The couple headed out into the back yard, and rode away towards Peach Creek junior high on their triple tandem bike as the morning sun rose over Peach Creek. Marie could not help but lean forward and kiss her boyfriend on the cheek as they rode. Double Dee turned around and smiled at his beautiful girlfriend. The rest of the kids were just waking up as the happy couple shared this beautiful moment.


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

It was a beautiful Friday morning in Peach Creek. It was around 7:00, and all of the children have woken up and finished their morning routines. Kevin and Rolf tossed a football up and down the cul-de-sac, as Nazz and Johnny sat on the curb and watched the boys play. Sarah and Jimmy were roller skating on the curb in front of Sarah's house.

Eddy had just been woken up by Ed, who had remembered that it was Friday and that the school lunch would have pudding on the menu. Not that Ed liked the pudding itself; because the pudding was poorly made, he would be able to harvest the skin from it. Naturally Ed was excited, and barged into Eddy's room, forcing him to rise out of bed before he had wanted to. The two boys were currently walking out of Eddy's yard and towards the cul-de-sac.

"I can't believe it Ed." said Eddy, "The sock-head just blew us off for a Kanker. I mean come on, we showed that guy the way since he moved here, and now he's turning his back on us?"

"Didn't we try to scam him when first met him Eddy?" said Ed in his deep, staggering voice.

"Who cares, we looked out for him, and he looked out for us. Now that a girls in the picture, he's gonna completely forget about us. I mean it would be cool if the chick he was with was actually worth being with."

Ed absentmindedly listened to Eddy's babbling about Double Dee and Maries relationship as the boys made their way out to the cul-de-sac. As they took notice of the other kids, Eddy ran over to where Kevin and Rolf were playing.

"Hey Kev, come on pass it!" yelled Eddy as he held his hands up for Kevin to pass the ball to him.

"Yo Eddy!" said Kevin as he threw the ball to him, "How did it go last night?"

"How did what go?" asked Nazz.

Kevin and Eddy looked at each other.

"Oh yeah I forgot, nobody else knows yet." said Kevin.

"Knows what Kev?" asked Nazz.

"Nazz, remember how we thought Double Dee had a girlfriend," said Kevin, "Well he does, and it turns out that the girl he's with is Marie Kanker."

Kevin stared into his girlfriends face, expecting a surprised look and laughter. Nazz instead behaved indifferent to the news.

"No duh dude." said Nazz.

"What do ya mean, no duh?" asked Kevin, slightly irritated.

"I thought he would have told you guys, seeing as you're his best friends. I saw her leaving his house all the time for the past week out my window while I was doing my Tae Bo workouts. Come on dude, you guys didn't catch on." said Nazz

Kevin, Eddy and Rolf stood speechless, they could not believe that something that remained under the noses for the past week was not a secret at all to Nazz.

"The Go-Go Nazz girl is wiser than she seems." said Rolf

"Well doesn't that strike you as odd." asked Kevin.

"Not really, I think it's kind of cute, her being rough and him being shy. Love works out like that all the time." replied Nazz as she pushed her hair back with her hand.

"Kind of cute?" asked Eddy annoyed, "Are ya freakin blind, Marie Kanker is a man eater?"

"Just lay off of him and cut him a break." said Nazz, "You guys should support him, being his best friends."

Eddy stood annoyed after hearing Nazz's acceptance of what he saw as an abomination. Johnny chimed in when he heard the news.

"Whoah Double Dee is dating Marie?" said Johnny, "I bet you never saw that one coming, did ya buddy!" he said to Plank as he laughed.

"Do my ears deceive me or did I just hear that love is in the air!" yelled Jimmy in his high pitched voice as he ran over towards the rest of the kids, Sarah tagging along right behind him.

"What's going on Jimmy?" asked Sarah.

"Sarah, spring has come early. Cupids arrow has struck Double Dee!" yelled Jimmy.

"Double Dee?" said Sarah.

"The head-full-of-brains Ed boy has become smitten with the second born Kanker girl." said Rolf to Sarah.

"Really?" said Sarah, slightly annoyed, as she still harbored a small crush on Double Dee. "I don't believe it."

"Oh you better believe it." said Eddy, "Just wait until you get to school and you'll see."

"Where is Double Dee Eddy?" asked Ed.

Even though he was the topic of the conversation, up until now, no one had ever even questioned where he was. He should have definitely been up by now, as he never missed a school day in his life. Eddy ran up to his door and knocked on it. After he received no answer, he walked around the back of the house and climbed the drainpipe to see if he was in his room. Double Dee was nowhere to be found.

"He's not in there." said Eddy as he emerged from the alley, "He probably went to school early for some nerdy club or something."

"We better get going too," said Kevin, "Come on Nazz, I'll give ya a ride."

Kevin pulled his bike out of the front yard and allowed Nazz to sit behind him on the long banana seat. Kevin still kept a water bottle wedged in between his spokes and the bike frame, creating a characteristic motorcycle sound as he peddled away from the rest of the kids.

"Ed boys, would you like a ride to school on Rolfs tractor?" asked Rolf.

"No thanks Rolfy boy." said Eddy as the boys began walking towards the school, "We'll just walk."

"ED!" yelled Sarah's obnoxious voice. "Mom found out you haven't been walking me and Jimmy to school. Now you better take us today or your gonna wind up grounded for a week."

"Come on Sarah." said Ed.

"Fine, I'll go tell mom right now." said Sarah as she began skipping toward Ed's house.

"NO!" yelled Ed as he ran and grabbed Sarah's hand. "Please baby sister don't tell mom. Come on let's go to school."

Ed began pulling Sarah by the hand toward the end of the cul-de-sac.

"Come on Jimmy join the safety train!" said Ed as he grabbed Jimmy's hand with his other hand.

Sarah knew quite well that she and Jimmy were perfectly capable of walking to school themselves; she just wanted to torment Ed. With that Eddy was left alone with Johnny and Plank.

"Hey Eddy, do ya wanna walk to school with me and Plank? Plank tells good jokes." said Johnny as he shoved Plank into Eddys face..

Eddy groaned.

"Alright melon head, let's go." said Eddy as he and Johnny began making their way toward the end of the cul-de-sac.

The school grounds were completely devoid of life. Double Dee and Marie had arrived around 15 minutes ago and Double Dee was finally able to properly chain the bike to the rack. Double Dee had given Marie a pair of his older jeans that fit her well, as well as a blue t-shirt to wear to school. He simply wore his usual red shirt and blue pants. The couple was currently standing behind the school, in a small alley that seemed to act as a storage area for track and field equipment. They had found themselves there after Marie decided that she wanted to spend a little bit of 'intimate' time with her boyfriend, prompting her to seek a hidden location in case someone did happen to be on school grounds.

Double Dee and Marie were making out in the alleyway. Marie was leaning against the wall while Double Dee pressed his body against hers. Her left leg was bent, with her foot resting on the wall she was leaning on. She had her arms wrapped around Double Dees neck, while he placed his arms on her waist.

"Well this is a nice way to start the day, isn't it cutie." said Marie, smiling.

"I must agree with you Marie, this is an excellent way to start the day." replied Double Dee.

The couple resumed kissing for a few more minutes, until it was interrupted by the sound of a door opening. Double Dee and Marie had the same English teacher, and they were both stunned to see Ms. Volin leaning out the steel door, presumably coming out to get fresh air. Double Dee and Marie still in each other's arms, stared directly into the teacher's eyes. Everyone was completely surprised, and poor Double Dee was embarrassed beyond belief. Double Dee and Maries nerves were somewhat relieved as Ms. Volin simply smiled at them and slowly closed the door, but not before saying a few words.

Marie giggled at what had just happened while Double Dee turned beet red in the face.

"Marie how could you possibly laugh at this predicament?" asked Double Dee.

"Relax Double Dee." said Marie as she giggled, "she could have reported us if she wanted to. Besides, you heard what she said, 'she was young once too.'"

Marie giggled once again, Double Dee couldn't help cracking a smile.

"You do realize that we have just dodged a bullet, don't you Marie?" said Double Dee.

"Yes I do cutie," said Marie as she leaned into his ear, "But that's the thrill of it."

Marie moved her head to look into Double Dees eyes once again, smiling. Double Dee sighed.

"Where were we?" he asked.

"That's the spirit Double Dee!" said Marie as she touched her lips to his and picked up where they left off before they were disturbed.

Before they knew it, they began to hear the sounds of people funneling into the school. They decided that it was time for them to leave the alley and seek a different activity to pass the time before school began. They took their seats at a picnic table that was located on the grass.

"It's going to be an awkward English class." said Double Dee chuckling.

"It sure will be," said Marie as she snickered back at him.

Meanwhile, the rest of the kids had arrived in the school, and were currently hanging out in the hallwa, waiting for the bell to ring that signaled them all to go to homeroom. Eddy was currently talking to Kevin about sports, specifically the super bowl that was to be held on Sunday night. Naturally Eddy couldn't help involving money, so he placed a wager with Kevin over which team would win. Ed stood near them at his locker, fiddling with his books and his other junk he had contained within it. Nazz was at her locker as well, checking herself out in the mirror that she had hung on the door, directly next to Kevin's football portrait.

Everything was calm and tranquil until the front doors to the school flew open with force, causing the metal doors to impact the concrete walls next to them. Everyone turned around to see Lee Kanker walking through the threshold. Behind her, May entered the doors in a more calm and lady like fashion. Lee walked down the hallway, her eyes honed in on Eddy. She eventually reached Eddy's position and grabbed him by his shoulder, slamming him against the locker.

"Alright buddy boy, where is she!" yelled Lee.

"Get your stinky paws off of me!" yelled Eddy, "I don't even know what your talkin' about."

At this point, the rest of the kids were staring at the situation unfolding before them, all except Ed, who was enjoying a leftover apple that he had found in his locker.

"Marie left the trailer last night and never came home." said Lee, "Did you see her with Double Dweeb this morning."

"He wasn't at his house this morning, so no I haven't seen him." Said Eddy, "And how is it my problem that your sister didn't come home."

As the two continued to bicker, the front doors to the school opened once again, much more gently than last time. Everyone turned to see Double Dee holding the large black door open from the inside. Marie entered shortly after, thanking Double Dee for holding the door for her. The couple joined hands and began walking down the hallway together. The hallway was in complete silence, and everyone stared as the couple passed them on their way to Double Dees locker. When they reached his locker, they bid each other farewell, and with a quick kiss, Marie began walking to her locker.

"Excuse me shrimp." said Lee as she released her grip on Eddy. "I gotta go have a word with her."

Lee stormed off down the hallway, following the path Marie had taken. May quickly ran behind her, joining in pursuit of her sister.

"Did ya see that?" said Eddy to Kevin, "He just blew us off again."

"Calm down dork," said Kevin, "I highly doubt that Double Dee would forget about us just because he has a girlfriend."

Double Dee finished exchanging his books at his locker and walked down the hallway to join Eddy, Kevin and Ed.

"Good morning gentleman." said Double Dee with the same enthusiastic personality as always, "How are you all on this beautiful morning?"

"Oh great Double Dee, everything is just peachy keen." Said Eddy annoyed at Double Dee.

"If your sarcasm is alluding to the events that transpired last night, the only thing I request is that we put all of that ugliness behind us and continue our lives as is. You are still my close friend Eddy, and I would never ditch you totally just because I have found love. Therefore, I hope you can find it in your heart to at least try to accept my relationship with Marie, and maybe get to know her a little more. You then might see the beautiful person she really is."

Eddy groaned.

"Ah come on Eddy, lighten up." said Ed, "Double Dee is our best friend, and a friend of his is a friend of mine."

"The one time you say something worthwhile, it actually means something." said Eddy. Eddy thought about the discussion he had had with Lee the night before. Although they hadn't come up with a specific plan to get Double Dee away from Marie, Eddy knew that if he was eventually to put whatever plan it may be into action, he could not be a suspect. He knew he had to accept this abomination at least for a few days.

"Ah Ed's right." said Eddy, "Come here you!"

Eddy grabbed Double Dee in a headlock and began giving him a noogie once again.

"Dog Pile!" yelled Ed and Kevin as they tackled their two friends, joining in on the friendly fun. Nobody suspected that Eddy was just along for the ride.

"I am so glad that you guys have accepted this so quickly!" said Double Dee.

"Anything for my best friend," said Eddy, "You just better watch she don't eventually want me instead of you."

Eddy could not believe that he had just spoken those words out of his mouth. Declaring that he wanted a Kanker to like him, even in a joking manner, was too much.

"Eddy, you couldn't steal Double Dees girl if you tried." said Kevin as the boys walked down the hallway toward homeroom.

"Shut up dork!" said Eddy laughing.

"Hey, that's my word." replied Kevin.

The morning flew by quickly, with art class being the highlight of Double Dees morning. He shared this class with his two best pals, as well as Johnny 2x4. However, more importantly, he also shared this class with his beautiful girlfriend. The seats in the class were assigned by last name; Marie, her name beginning with a K sat in the third row of desks, while Double Dee, having Svenski as a last name sat in the fifth row. Ed, his last name being Fullerton, sat in the first row, spending his time in art class drawing monsters from movies he had seen the previous night rather than following the teacher's directives. Eddy McGee sat a few seats down from Marie due to their last names being in close proximity. Lastly, Johnny and Plank Parker sat at the far left end of the row in front of Double Dee.

Double Dee could not focus on his drawing, he was completely infatuated with Marie, although it was only the back of her head that he could see. Marie was completely focused on her art for the most part; she seemed to be putting a lot of effort into whatever she was doing. It certainly wasn't the still-life that everyone was supposed to be drawing. Nevertheless, she kept glancing back at Double Dee, smiling every time she did so. Double Dee and Marie continued to glance and share smiles at each other throughout the whole period.

Eventually, the bell rang signaling lunch, and all of the students began shuffling out of the room, handing in their drawings for grading as they left. Due to previously discussed circumstances, neither Double Dee nor Marie had put any kind of effort into completing the project and thus did not have anything to turn in. The couple met up at the door and continued into the hallway.

"Hey you." said Marie, as she poked him in the arm, "It seems like forever since I last saw you, what was it, four hours ago?"

Marie laughed.

"That's still too long for me." said Double Dee smiling at her.

"You can't resist melting my heart with your sweetness for one day can you Double Dee." said Marie smiling from ear to ear.

Double Dee blushed, as he smiled at his girlfriend.

Eddy and the rest of the crew were already at their table eating lunch. Eddy was eating the school pepperoni pizza, while Ed divided his time between eating fried chicken he had brought in and eating the schools pudding skins that he was so excited to eat that morning. Rolf joined them at the table, feasting on a sandwich made up of various parts of marine mollusk, one such part consisted of an octopus tentacle. Kevin had decided to eat lunch with Nazz that day, and was currently flirting with her over pizza at the next table over. The red and blonde haired Kanker sisters sat by themselves at their usual table, eating what appeared to be left over hotdogs from the previous night.

Marie and Double Dee entered the cafeteria holding hands, and once again caught the eye of all of their friends. They walked over to an empty table and took it for themselves. Eddy was annoyed, but had to keep up his charade as to not give suspicion.

"So what have you brought to lunch today Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"Only the best delicacy that mankind has ever created." Marie said sarcastically, yet enthusiastically, as she pulled her lunch out of the brown paper bag. "A hotdog complete with ketchup as bonus touch." Marie giggled, and Double Dee joined her.

"I only have a ham and cheese sandwich topped with a little mayonnaise and a thermos full of fruit juice." said Double Dee, "It isn't much either, but it gives me the energy I need for a productive afternoon."

The couple began eating. Double Dee finished chewing his food before he began talking.

"So Marie, what was it you were working on so intently in art class?" asked Double Dee.

"Its top secret." said Marie as she grinned at Double Dee, "It's not finished yet, but I promise you will see it when it's done."

"Okay Marie," said Double Dee as he cracked a smile.

As the couple shared laughs and made jokes, unspoken tensions radiated through the lunchroom. As Ed pigged out next to him, Eddy's insides were burning with a fiery rage. The same was true for Lee, who was sitting all the way on the other side of the lunchroom.

Eddy's tense stare was broken by a tap on the shoulder by Kevin, who had left Nazz for a few seconds to talk to Eddy. Eddy turned up to look into his face.

"Hey dork," said Kevin, "Take a look at them."

Eddy glanced back over at Double Dee and Marie sharing a laugh.

"Ya know, I had my doubts too when I first heard about this." said Kevin, "But you can tell that they really enjoy being with each other by the way they act. I mean, what gives me and Nazz the right to be together, but not them."

Eddy could not believe the words that were coming out of Kevin's mouth. True, he had learned far more about Kevin since they became friends; hell he would even go as far to say that they are really almost identical in personality, as much as they would have hated to admit it prior to last summer. But he had never thought that Kevin would be as willing to accept their relationship as Nazz was.

"Yeah I know, isn't it great." said Eddy, every word he said being a lie.

Kevin eventually rejoined Nazz for the remainder of the lunch period. Time passed, and the bell that ended lunch eventually rang. Double Dee and Marie stood up from their table, and began walking out of the cafeteria.

"It's a shame, we won't see each other the rest of the day." said Double Dee.

"Yeah, but you can bet your heart on it that I'll find a way to see you tonight after school." replied Marie. Double Dee was immediately excited about the proposition of Marie coming over his house once again.

"Lee will probably start something, but it will feel good to be able to just say that I'm going to your house." said Marie as she chuckled.

The couple stopped when they reached the intersection where they had to separate. They shared a quick kiss on the lips before saying goodbye once again, and heading to the first of their afternoon classes.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

The time was 2:30, and the afternoon bell at Peach Creek Junior High had just rung. It was once again time for the weekend to begin, and naturally all of the students were excited. Double Dee had given Ed and Eddy a ride home, seeing as he had a triple tandem bike with him that day and was currently hanging out his two best friends, as well as Kevin and Rolf in Eds basement passing time playing Xbox live. Nazz was currently performing her afternoon workout, while Sarah and Jimmy were playing dress up in Jimmy's bedroom.

It was around 3:00 when Lee, Marie, and May entered the front door to their trailer home in single file. The three girls had hardly spoken a word to each other as they walked home, and Marie had purposely lagged behind her two sisters, indicating that she did not want to be bothered.

Lee laid herself down on the couch immediately as she walked into the trailer, as Marie dropped her book bag and May went out to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of soda. Lee finally broke the silence between the sisters.

"That was some stunt you pulled last night Marie." said Lee,

"Some stunt I pulled?" said Marie irritated, "You kicked me out of the house, so I left!"

May peered out into the living room slightly frightened, as she knew that a full blown fight like the one from the previous night would soon be occurring once again.

"Yeah, but that didn't mean stay out all night with that loser man of yours, unless you were givin it to him that is." said Lee as she snickered.

"First of all, he is not a loser!" yelled Marie, "He's a really great guy. And second of all, I'm going over his house again tonight whether you like it or not."

"To hell you are!" said Lee, "You ain't goin nowhere near him."

"Why not?" asked Marie, "Give me one good reason why Lee."

May entered the living room with a glass of soda and stood near the end of the couch.

"Because I can't have ya fallin in love, deadeye!" said Lee, "There is no such thing as love, get over yourself, all men are the same, he's just gonna dump ya eventually!"

"No he's not Lee!" yelled Marie, walking over towards Lee, "He truly cares about me and loves me, and that's more than I can say about you!"

Lee and May were shocked at Maries last statement, Lee rose up of f of the couch.

"Did you just say I don't care about ya?" asked Lee.

"You never talk about anything, you never ask me how I am or how things are going." yelled Marie, "Everything that comes out of your mouth is just a nasty insult."

"Who's the one that practically raised ya while mom was nowhere to be found." yelled Lee back into Marie's face, "Who's the one that made sure you two had something in your stomach every morning? I did everything for you two and this is the thanks I get. Being told I don't care about ya!"

Lee's face was turning red as she was furious.

"Why do you hate men, and why do you hate me being with Double Dee!" yelled Marie aggressively.

"I gave a lot of my childhood away, dealing with making sure you two had everything you needed to have!" yelled Lee.

"Oh boo hoo Lee, me and May had a screwed up life and we all have our own little screwed up problems, but that doe….."

Marie was cut off as Lee grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the wall of the trailer, almost putting a hole in the wood paneling. May was speechless and shocked, she had never seen Lee slam someone as hard as she had just slammed Marie. Marie was speechless and fearful as she stared into Lee's angry eyes.

"Don't you EVER even think you can tell me that you know what a screwed up life is!" yelled Lee into Maries face. She let Marie go and turned around, attempting to hide her face. For the first time since Marie could ever remember, her older sister was holding back tears.

"Lee, are you alright?" asked Marie, as she walked over touching her hand to Lees shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" said Lee, as she walked over to the couch and sat down, burying her face in her hands. Marie looked over at May, who was just as confused. The two girls walked over to the couch and sat down on each side of their older sister.

"Lee," said Marie, "I'm sorry, I know you really helped us out, and I'm so thankful you did."

"Save me the sympathy, deadeye." said Lee as she attempted to continue to hold back tears. Marie glanced over at May.

After a few minutes, Lee began speaking once again.

"You two don't even know the half of what I have been through in my life." said Lee in a calm, almost soothing voice, very different from her usual gruff voice.

"We'd like to hear about it." said Marie.

"Yeah," said May, "We're here for you Lee."

Lee paused for a few minutes before she began speaking.

"Do you two remember Dennis?" said Lee.

Marie and May thought for a few minutes before the name rang a bell in Maries head. Dennis was one of Ms. Kanker's boyfriends that she had after she broke up with Rod, and was the one who had spent the most time in the girls lives. He was in their mom's life off and on for a good four years, up until Lee was around 10 years old.

"Yeah I remember him, he lived with us in the apartment of and on." said Marie.

"Yeah, I can remember him always being in and out, there was so much fighting I hated that part of our life." said May.

"Okay so you two do remember all of that." said Lee, "Anyway, when he first moved in, he seemed like a good guy. He'd always play with me, I can remember him picking me up and throwing me toward the ceiling, only to catch me right before I hit the floor. I thought it was fun back then. He never even paid you two no mind."

Lee snickered sarcastically before she continued.

"Anyway, things got weird really quick. One night after I went to bed, I heard the door to my room begin opening. You were in the other bedroom Marie, and you were at Daddys that night May."

Lee paused, she was now holding back tears once again.

"He came over to my bed…..and…."

Lee struggled to get her words out. May and Marie stared at their sister, attempting to hold back tears of their own.

"He told me that he was going to do some fun things with me. He….he told me not to worry and…."

The gruff Kanker sister's internal emotions had finally shattered the dam that she had created to hold them in. Lee was now sitting on the couch crying, unable to finish her sentence. Her two sisters, attempting to hold back tears themselves, reached their arms out and embraced their oldest sister. Lee broke the silence again.

"After he finished, he t.t.t…old me to not tell anyone what happened, and he told me that if I didn't want to 'have fun' with him again, he would just have to settle for 'those two cute little sisters you have'"

Lee once again burst out in tears. May and Marie were now crying tears of their own. Marie in particular was absolutely heartbroken. She had now realized that Lee had sacrificed much more than her time for her two sisters. She had subjected herself to abuse she should have never suffered, and possibly caused herself years of mental health issues, all with the idea that she would be protecting her little sisters.

"I fucking hate him!" yelled Lee as she suddenly threw a water bottle that was sitting on a table at the wall directly across from the couch before burying her hands in her face again.

It all became very clear to Marie at this point. Although their mother always talked about men being no good and that it is not a good idea to commit, her views were not the deciding factor in forming Lees views of men. Lee hated men because of the abuse she had suffered as a child. She then inadvertently passed on the views to her little sisters as they grew up. Her over sexualized behavior was obviously due to these horrible episodes as well. As much as Marie had never realized it, and even though Lee was only a year and a half older than her, she had looked up to Lee, sort of as a mother figure. Therefore, it was only natural for her and May to believe that Lee was right about men, and that they should follow her lead in just pursuing them just for quick encounters.

"Lee….I had no idea." said May under her breath.

"Why didn't you ever tell us before?" asked Marie, "How long did this go on."

Lee struggled to get her words out of her mouth.

"It happened every few nights from the time I was six until the time I was ten, when the big fight happened." said Lee.

"What big fight?" asked Marie, "I don't remember any big fight around that time."

"Dennis was watching us all that night while mom was in work." said Lee, "I believe you two were out in the living room playing with your dolls, when Dennis told me he 'had a surprise for me in the bedroom'."

"You know what Lee," said May, "I can remember him saying that to you and then grabbing you by the hand and taking you into the room."

"I can remember playing with the dollhouse that Poppy made for us and wondering where Lee was" said Marie, "But that's it."

"Then you probably remember what happened after that." said Lee, "While Dennis had me in the room." Lee shuddered after that last statement, and felt a lump in her throat form. She shook it off and continued.

"While Dennis had me in the room, Daddy came over for a surprise visit with Linda." said Lee.

"They were dating back then?" asked May.

"Yeah they were." said Lee as she continued. "The two came over to take us on a surprise trip to Chuck E. Cheeses. Daddy must have wondered where I was, and began checking every room, eventually walking in on the room that me and Dennis were in."

Lee gulped as tears began running down her face once again.

"I can remember Daddy going over to Dennis and punching him in the face, knocking him down. He then started stomping on Dennis' face. I didn't know what to do, I felt so helpless that I began crying. Daddy noticed and yelled for Linda to take me and you two down to the truck. I can remember Linda yelling for Daddy to stop, or he was going to kill Dennis.

Lee paused.

"It was all a blur after that. I can remember Daddy hugging me and saying 'it's okay Annalee' over and over again. I cried outside his truck, while Linda put you two girls in the backseat. The only other thing I remember was seeing the red and blue lights from the police cars that showed up at the apartment. I have no idea what happened after that."

"I hope that creep is rotting away in prison!" said May

"Yeah, and if he is, he'll be sure getting a taste of what he did to you right back at him while he's in there!" said an angry Marie.

"He did get locked up after that on unrelated charges." said Lee, still upset, "I can remember mom talking about him a few years ago and saying that he was doing 5 years for a burglary or something. And what really sucks is that Daddy was locked up for a few days for beatin' the livin' hell out of him."

Lee paused and caught her breath. Marie motioned May to go out into the kitchen and grab tissues for Lee to dry her face off with. May returned with the tissues and gave them to Lee.

"If you ask me," said Marie, "Daddy is the hero in that situation."

The girls sat in silence on the couch for a few more minutes. Lee broke the silence once again.

"Now you know the truth." said Lee.

"Why didn't you ever tell us before Lee?" asked Marie.

"I guess I was still scared." said Lee, "It didn't end after that night, it still follows me day in and day out, I have nightmares about him and that screwed up face of his." Lee sobbed once again.

"Lee, we are here for you." said May, "We're your sisters, we'll always be here for you."

Lee saw the opportunity to crack a joke.

"Oh so now you're a Kanker again all the sudden Bucky?" said Lee, grinning, "I thought you 'renounced your sister hip'" Lee stuck her teeth out imitating an overbite as she said the last statement.

"Ah shut up Lee." said Marie, "We'll always be Kanker's sisters no matter what."

Marie placed her hand on Lee's shoulder. Lee looked up into her eyes.

"Sisters?" Marie said smiling, Lee smiled back at her.

"Sisters," said Lee as she placed her arm around Marie. She turned her attention to May, "You in on this May?" she asked before laughing.

May said nothing, however she immediately joined the three sisters group hug. This marked the first time that all three Kanker sisters were able to hug each other with the purpose of showing love. Lee broke the silence.

"I love you girls." she said.

The three sisters spent the next few moments finally sharing their love for each other. Once they were finished, Lee chimed in.

"You two are probably the most annoying two people that exist on Gods earth, but I couldn't live without ya!" said Lee.

"Well same to you!" said Marie as all three girls shared a laugh.

"Besides, who would help me come up with all the scams that we use to torture the Eds!" she said while grinning.

The girls had almost forgotten Marie's statement earlier that night. She had promised Double Dee that she would be at his house by 7:00. She glanced at the clock, it was 6:00, and she would have to rush to get ready to go to Double Dees house. However, she felt terrible leaving if her sister still needed any more emotional support.

Lee noticed that Marie was looking at the clock and grinned.

"Oh yeah, didn't ya say that you had to meet up wit your man tonight?" said Lee, back to using her usual gruff voice.

"Yeah, I promised him I would be over his house tonight." said Marie.

"Oh yeah, what time?" said Lee.

"7:00" replied Marie.

"7:00!" shouted Lee, "alright come on let's get you ready!" said Lee as she jumped up. "Go get your shower while me and May pick out your clothes. I'm an expert on fashion for man pleasing!"

"Wait you actually want me to go!" asked Marie, confused.

"Spare the details Marie," said Lee, "Just get your ass upstairs and get a shower."

Marie began to walk past Lee to the stairs as she looked into her face grinning. Lee couldn't help but grin back into her face.

The Kankers mother was endangered of having the gas utility shut off due to not being able to pay the bills. Thankfully, Rod who was a heavy equipment operator and managed better financially than Ms. Kanker offered to pay the bill so that his daughters could have warm showers and boil their hotdogs for dinner. After enjoying a warm shower, Marie walked out to the bedroom naked wrapped in a towel. She found Lee and May standing in the bedroom grinning at her. There was a black dress that appeared as if it would expose cleavage sitting on the bed, as well as a pair of grey stockings. Lee had also prepared the same boots as Marie had worn to his house for dinner.

"This outfit will drive him nuts!" said Lee while chuckling.

"Alright now while you get dressed, I'm gonna sit here and listen to you tell me how a girl like you possibly ends up with a nice guy like Double Dee." said Lee jokingly, May joined in on the laughter.

For the first time, Marie told her whole entire story to Lee as she got dressed in the outfit her sisters picked out for her. By the time she had finished, she was fully dressed and was working on her makeup while May helped her style her hair.

"You really do love him don't you Marie?" asked Lee in her gentle voice once again.

"Yes, I really do." said Marie.

Lee cracked a smile at Marie's last statement, before May chimed in.

"Wait till you hear what she didn't tell ya." said May jokingly as she sprayed Maries hair.

Marie was slightly embarrassed as May told her how she walked in on Marie and Double Dee shirtless the night Lee had discovered their secret. The three girls chuckled.

"Oooooh go Marie," said Lee jokingly, "I was starting to think you were strayin' a little too far from your Kanker roots!" yelled Lee as she laughed.

The three girls shared more laughs as they prepared Marie for her night with Double Dee. Before she knew it, it was 6:45 and Marie was fully dressed and ready to walk to Double Dees house. May ran in front of her and descended the staircase before her.

"I now present to you, the new Ms. Universe, Annemarie Kanker!" yelled May at the bottom of the stairs as Marie descended it. Lee began humming the theme song to the show as Marie made her way down the stairs. Marie couldn't help but smile at her sister's jokes. When the girls got downstairs, Lee ran into the kitchen and grabbed a long broom handle. She placed it in a vase containing soil where a potted plant used to be, pointing straight up in the air.

"Now you're gonna practice your pole dance for him tonight!" said Lee laughing. Marie slapped her playfully on the shoulder as May laughed with them.

"Aight, it's quarter of, you better get outta here." said Lee.

"Alright," said Marie as she approached the front door, "I'll probably be back late."

"Not too late now!" said Lee, chuckling once again.

Marie ran over to Lee and gave her a hug. For the first time, Lee placed her arms around her and hugged her back.

"Thanks Lee." said Marie.

"No thank you Marie for being there for me tonight." said Lee as she smiled into Maries eyes. Lee then continued speaking.

"Now don't think all this sister love sissy stuff changes anything. Alright we care for each other, but I still expect all of the benefits I received before tonight, such as May getting me a soda while I sit on the couch after Marie leaves." said Lee, snickering.

"And if either of you two tell anyone that I sat here bawling like a freakin' baby for ten minutes, I'll knock both your blocks off got it?" said Lee in a quiet but intimidating voice. May and Marie smiled at each other.

"Whatever ya say Lee." said Marie as she opened the door, grabbing a tube that appeared to hold some kind of poster as she did so.

"Damn right whatever I say!" said Lee, "Now get the hell outta here, you got a boyfriend to see, I got tv to watch, and May's got orders to fill from me."

"Alright then see ya!" said Marie as she walked out the door.

"See ya Marie!" yelled May, "Tell Double Dee we said hi."

As Marie walked away from the trailer, she couldn't help but chuckle when she heard Lee yell for May to grab a pillow from upstairs. Everything seemed back to normal in the Kanker household, when in reality it wasn't. That afternoon, Marie had finally learned what was responsible for Lee's bizarre and often cruel behavior. The childhood that she had was nothing compared to the horrible childhood that Lee had suffered. Nevertheless, the deep words spoken this afternoon had brought the sisters even closer together, and Marie smiled at the idea of continuing to build stable loving relationships with her two sisters.

At this moment however, her mind turned to other things as she approached the large brown front door of Double Dees house. Thoughts of Double Dees dreamy eyes and handsome face entered her mind as she pushed the button to ring his doorbell once again. She listened and heard the sound of his footsteps running down the stairs and after a slight pause, the door began to creak open. Butterflies were fluttering in Marie's stomach, and her face formed a smile as she made eye contact with Double Dees face once again.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

Double Dee had spent his afternoon with Ed and Eddy, playing Xbox in Ed's basement. Ed was lying on the floor with the controller held in his hands in front of him, never taking his eyes off of the screen. Eddy sat in Ed's beat up arm chair, focused intently on the screen as well. Double Dee sat on Ed's bed, and although his fingers were pushing the buttons, he was completely unfocused on their game of Halo. His mind was on his beautiful girlfriend, and the fact that he would be able to see her tonight. He could only hope that Lee wouldn't give her too much trouble.

Ed, Edd and Eddy were all on the same team and were connected via Xbox live to Kevin and Rolf who were playing at Kevin's house. They were playing another team from elsewhere in the world and were currently being demolished. Naturally, Eddy was becoming competitive.

"Double Dee!" yelled Eddy, waking Double Dee out of his dream-like state, "How could you miss that guy, he was right in front of ya!"

"Sorry Eddy, I guess I lost focus." said Double Dee as he continued playing, before they knew it the game was over and they had lost. Eddy cursed and threw the controller onto the floor, Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle at Eddy's un sportsman like behavior.

"Whatever, it was my stupid controller." said Eddy, "Ed, go upstairs and bring down some sodas."

"Aye Aye Eddy!" yelled Ed as he saluted Eddy and ran out the door to his room.

Eddy saw this as an opportunity to try to extract information from Double Dee. He began acting once again as if he accepted his relationship.

"So Double Dee how'd it all start with Marie anyway?" asked Eddy.

Double Dee explained the whole situation to him, and the circumstances that led to the beginning their relationship.

"Wow, who would of thought love would come from by fixing someone's tv." said Eddy.

"I know, it seemed quite bizarre," said Double Dee chuckling.

"I got the sodas Eddy!" yelled Ed as he ran down into the room, shaking the sodas along the way.

"Good, cause I need a drink, toss one here Lumpy!" yelled Eddy.

Ed tossed Eddy one of the Pepsi's, which Eddy attempted to open only for it to explode all over his face and clothes. Double Dee and Ed laughed as Eddy groaned and scolded Ed for shaking up the soda. He then shook up another soda and sprayed Ed back. The merriment ended when Sarah showed up at the door to Ed's room.

"What are you doin Ed?" asked Sarah with a serious look on her face.

"We're just having fun Sarah." said Ed.

"Yeah, watch out squirt" said Eddy as he shook up a can of Pepsi and sprayed it directly in Sarah's face. Sarah was absolutely furious.

"MOMMY!" yelled Sarah up the stairs, "Come see what Ed and his idiot friends did!"

"Uh oh." said Eddy under his breath as Ed's smile turned into a frown.

Within a few minutes, Sarah looked up the stairs with a frown on her face, playing up to Ms. Fullerton, who was descending the stairs. Sarah moved to the side to let her mother look into the room, at which point she snickered at Ed and stuck her tongue out from behind her mother's back.

Ed's mother stood in the doorway staring at the mess that Ed had created. She was around 5'6" and was a slender woman with blonde hair styled in a bob haircut. She wore a pink dress that showed off the surprising curves that she still possessed, although she was in her mid forties. She was quite attractive for her age.

"See mommy?" said Sarah in a gentle voice, "I tried to tell him not to, but they did it anyway, and now look at my shirt!"

"Mom, we were just having fun." said Ed in an upset voice.

Much to Sarah's enjoyment, Ed's mother asked Eddy and Double Dee to leave, while Ed was forced to clean up his room. Double Dee and Eddy were now outside Ed's house walking down his alley back towards the cul-de-sac.

"Sarah is such a little brat!" yelled Eddy, "Ed can't have any fun or even be a kid without her telling his mom. And her mom acts like Sarah is little miss perfect!"

"Well Eddy, you did walk right up to her and spray the soda directly into her face at point blank range." replied Double Dee.

"If you asked me she deserved it. You are lucky you're an only child Double Dee." said Eddy, "Me and Ed can both vouch that siblings are a pain in the ass."

Eddy had no idea how much his last statement affected Double Dee. True, Sarah was a brat and got Ed in trouble all of the time, but nevertheless, Ed still loved her. Eddy hated his brother for good reason, due to all of the physical and mental abuse he suffered growing up in the same house as him for the first 8 years of his life. Nevertheless, although Ed and Eddy were unsatisfied with their siblings and wished that they were only children, Double Dee would give anything to have his brother back with him.

"Come on sock head, let's go to Kevin's." Said Eddy, "We can play some more there, but only for a little bit cause he's got Nazz comin' over to his house tonight."

The thought of Kevin being able to see his girlfriend tonight reminded Double Dee that he needed to get home and get ready for Maries visit to his house.

"On the contrary Eddy, I must be getting home. Marie is coming over my house tonight at seven o'clock, and I really must freshen up before seeing her." said Double Dee.

Eddy was slightly angered that Double Dee would choose to go get ready for Maries visit rather than join him at Kevin's house.

"What is with these girls taking over all of my friend's lives." said Eddy under his breath.

"Excuse me Eddy, I didn't quite catch that." said Double Dee.

Eddy caught himself, he was thankful Double Dee didn't hear him.

"I said go have fun sock head, let me know how it went later!" said Eddy smiling as he walked toward Kevin's house.

"I sure will Eddy, farewell friend!" said Double Dee as he headed for his house.

As Eddy went to join his friends to play video games, Double Dee rushed upstairs to prepare for Maries visit. A few days prior, he had spent a large portion of his money he received for his birthday to buy Marie a gold necklace which bared a pendant in the shape of the word Annemarie. He had ordered the necklace so that it would be done today, and even though he had not expected Marie to be with him tonight, it was certainly a plus that he would be able to give it to her as soon as possible.

Double Dee placed the brown box that contained the necklace on his dresser next to Ms. Kanker's music box that Marie had left at his house to pick up later. He then turned his attention to his wardrobe. He quickly stripped off his usual clothes and decided on a sky blue button down shirt and khaki pants as his outfit for the evening. He inspected himself in front of his mirror, making sure everything was next and proper. As he straightened out a few wrinkles that he noticed in his shirt, he heard the familiar sound of Westminster chimes. Marie was once again at the front door of his house, and he was more excited than ever to see her.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Double Dee ran down the stairs at the sound of his doorbell and walked up to the front door. With a quick fix of his collar while looking into the mirror next to his staircase, he proceeded to open the door, with butterflies racing through his stomach knowing that he was about to see his Angel once again.

As the door opened with an audible creek, Double Dees girlfriend came into view. Double Dees jaw literally dropped when the door opened fully. She was wearing the brown high heeled boots that she had worn to dinner at Double Dees house a few nights ago, on top of gray stockings. However, the feature that stunned Double Dee was her dress. Marie wore a black dress that ended slightly above her knees. Thin black straps passed over her shoulders, connecting the back of the dress to the front, which had a v neck that slightly exposed her cleavage.

"Hi cutie, did ya miss me?" said Marie smiling

Even Double Dee who was an dedicated gentleman, couldn't help but check Marie out from head to toe, speechless. Marie took notice.

"I guess Lee wasn't lying when she said she was an expert on dressing to please men." said Marie giggling, as she noticed Double Dees eyes dart down to her chest.

"Hey lover boy, I'm up here!" yelled Marie jokingly while she chuckled.

Double Dee quickly looked up at Maries face, embarrassed beyond belief blushing at what he had just done inadvertently.

"Hello M..M. Marie, please excuse my rudeness." said a very nervous Double Dee.

"Double Dee." said Marie in a seductive voice as she walked up to him and put his arms around him. "If you wanted to see them that bad," Marie leaned into his ear, "You should have just asked."

Marie back away slightly and began pulling the sides of the v neck away from each other, slightly exposing a red bra. Double Dee's attention immediately went back to Maries chest, and his heart began racing.

"Ya wanna see more?" asked Marie.

Double Dee without even realizing what he was doing, shook his head up and down before making sense of what was going on. Marie let go of her dress and walked back up to Double Dee, pressing her lips against his for a few seconds.

"Maybe later, Oven Mitt." said Marie as she grinned at Double Dee chuckling, "You're so cute when you're nervous."

Double Dee blushed as Marie walked past him and sat down on the couch. He smiled as he walked over to join her.

"So Marie," said Double Dee, as he sat down, "Did you receive any trouble from Lee for coming over here tonight?"

"Double Dee, you wouldn't believe it." said Marie, as she smiled, "But Lee is perfectly fine with us being together now."

"Really!" yelled Double Dee, "However did you convince her to accept our relationship."

Marie told Double Dee of her and her sisters finally opening up to each other and talking about the problems they had growing up with each other. Out of respect for Lee, she didn't tell Double Dee about her abuse, but stated that Lee had finally let go of her emotions and talked to her sisters about the troubled life they had all had growing up.

"I think that is wonderful Marie!" said Double Dee.

"Yeah, you don't know how happy I am that we were able to talk about things for once." said Marie, "And guess what else?"

"What." replied Double Dee.

"Now we don't have to worry about any kind of trouble from my end with our relationship. In fact, the girls wanted to know if you wanted to come to the trailer tomorrow night to hang out and maybe watch a few movies." said Marie.

Double Dee paused for a second. Although he trusted Marie, he was still intimidated by Lee and had trouble believing that Lee would accept everything with open arms. Just then Marie leaned into his face.

"We're making our Kanker burgers again." said Marie in an elongated tone, as if to bribe Double Dee.

"I will be sure to be there Marie, you can count on it." said Double Dee as he smiled into her eyes.

"Great!" said Marie, after which she paused. "How are your boys dealing with the news?"

"You wouldn't believe it either Marie, but all of them accept us as well, including Eddy!" said Double Dee, excited.

"Really, you're joking." said Marie, "Eddy McGee is way too much of a blowhard to just give something like this the cold shoulder."

"I thought the same thing this morning." said Double Dee, "But Ed and Kevin somehow convinced him to accept. He even joked with me about it and put me in a headlock, which is something he only does when he is happy."

"Wow," said Marie, "This turned out better than expected for us."

"It sure did." said Double Dee as he got up off of the couch, "Would the lady like a nice cold glass of Pepsi?" asked Double Dee.

"I would love a glass of ice cold Pepsi Mr. Svenski" said Marie chuckling.

"Coming right up!" said Double Dee as he made his way out into the kitchen.

Perhaps due to Double Dees "wandering eye problem" he failed to take notice that Marie was carrying a tube that contained a rather large piece of paper rolled up inside it. She placed the tube on the floor beneath her feet as she waited for Double Dee to come back with her drink.

"Have you eaten yet Marie?" asked Double Dee, as he walked back in from the kitchen.

"No I haven't." said Marie.

"Neither have I," said Double Dee, "I'm going to order a Pizza if that's okay with you."

"That would be great Double Dee, I'm starving!" said Marie.

Double Dee quickly dialed the phone and ordered the pizza, after which he rejoined Marie in the living room, with a glass of water for himself.

"Would you like to relocate to the den so that we can watch television." asked Double Dee.

"Sure, lead the way." said Marie as she got up to follow Double Dee into the den.

The den of Double Dees house was primarily a space for his father when he was home relaxing after work. There was one large window facing the house in between Double Dees and Rolf's, which a young newlywed couple had just bought. The room was painted grey, and had a gray carpet as well. On the walls hung various posters and shelves displaying country music memorabilia, as well as a hook on which Double Dees father's acoustic guitar hung. There was a large family portrait that was displayed directly above the television set that appeared to have been taken when Double Dee was a toddler. In the photograph, his mother and father sat behind their two smiling little boys, Edward and James. The television itself was a 52" flat screen plasma display. There were two speakers that hung beside it that were part of the home theater system.

"They make TV's flat nowadays, that's news to me!" said Marie sarcastically, "Where I come from, you don't even have a remote control." she chuckled. Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle back with her.

It was Friday night, and nothing was on TV. After a few minutes of flipping the channels, the couple settled on watching Most Daring, a show that highlighted daring rescues and freak accidents involving stunts. After a few minutes of sitting Marie broke the silence.

"So did Ms. Volin have anything to say to you in English class today?" said Marie.

"It was quite embarrassing," said Double Dee, "She gave out the prompt for the poetry assignment and stopped at my desk. She then said to me that she knows I can write a good love poem, after which she smiled at me."

Marie laughed.

"Wow" said Marie.

"Did she say anything to you?" asked Double Dee.

"She stopped at my desk and said 'I believe that you have a really great guy to write a love poem about, don't you Ms. Kanker?'"

Marie began laughing and then looked into Double Dees eyes.

"She's right about one thing, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect guy in the whole universe." said Marie.

The couple was just about to share another kiss when the sound of Westminster Chimes once again filled the Svenski residence.

"It seems that the pizza is here." said Double Dee as he stood up and ran towards the front door. After paying the pizza man, he motioned for Marie to join him in the kitchen. He placed the pizza box down on the counter and opened the drawer to look for a pizza cutter. As Double Dee looked down into the drawer, his eyes couldn't help but wander once again to Marie's cleavage. He again found his hormones were fighting with his gentleman demeanor. He couldn't help but think how 'hot' Marie looked tonight.

"Are you gonna grab the pizza cutter cutie, or are you gonna stare at my breasts all night?" said Marie, shocking Double Dee by saying the word 'breasts'"

"Y..Yes, here is it." Said Double Dee as he quickly and awkwardly fumbled through the drawer blushing. Marie giggled as he eventually managed to locate the pizza cutter.

"Okay, just let me make a few slices across the pie." said Double Dee, as he cut the pizza into slices.

Double Dee placed two slices on two different plates, one for him and one for Marie. The couple walked back out into the Den and sat on Double Dees fathers couch while eating their pizza. Marie quickly ate her slice, and went to the kitchen for a few more, as she had not eaten all day. In addition, it was a blessing for her to have something else besides hot dogs for a change. Before they knew it, all of the pizza was gone.

"Well that was a great dinner!" said Marie.

"Yes it was, I am quite fond of pizza." said Double Dee.

The couple sat in silence watching television once again, before Double Dee remembered about his surprise for Marie.

"Marie, I have something for you up in my room." said Double Dee.

"Really?" said Marie as she got up off of the couch and sat down on Double Dees lap, placing her arms around him. "And what may that be?"

"Come upstairs and I'll show you." said Double Dee while smiling.

Marie slid off of Double Dees lap, exciting him slightly, after which she began walking out of the den and toward the stairs, making sure to sway her hips excessively in front of Double Dee.

"That's my Marie." said Double Dee under his breath to himself.

Double Dee followed Maries lead up to his room. Double Dee entered the room first, and flicked on the lights. He motioned for Marie to sit down on his bed, as he turned around toward his dresser. He sighed out of nervousness as he picked up the brown box in which the necklace sat.

"I had this made for you Marie." said Double Dee nervously while blushing. He handed the box to Marie.

"You got me a box?" asked Marie in an annoyed voice.

"No you have to open the box it's in…." Marie placed her hand on Double Dees mouth.

"Of course I know it's not just a box love." said Marie as she chuckled.

"Yes, silly me." said Double Dee as he smiled nervously.

Double Dee's heart was pounding as Marie opened the box. As her eyes caught a glimpse of the pendant, they widened with happiness. She pulled the entire necklace out of the box.

"Double Dee, this must have cost you a fortune this is real gold!" said Marie.

"Only the best for my Angel." said Double Dee, smiling.

"I love it!" yelled Marie as she placed the necklace down on the bed and jumped into Double Dees arms, squeezing him tightly. Double Dee returned the favor. He decided to live out the dream that he had in class a little over a week ago and spin his girlfriend around in the air. Marie giggled as Double Dee did so, making Double Dee smile from ear to ear. Marie pulled her face away so that she was looking him right in the eye. Their noses were now touching as they smiled into each other's eyes.

"Double Dee I love you so much!" said Marie as she kissed him on the lips.

"I love you too Marie." said Double Dee.

Double Dee put his girlfriend down and turned his attention to the music box.

"I hope you don't mind, but I brought the music box up here for the time being until you could take it home." said Double Dee.

"Not at all." said Marie, "I'm sure Lee and May will be happy to see it too. When May was a little girl, she always wanted to see what the box from my moms story looked like."

Marie sat back down on the bed, Double Dee sat down next to her. He calmly placed his arm around her shoulder to which Marie responded by leaned her head on his shoulder. Double Dee chimed in with a question.

"Marie, if you don't mind my curiosity, may I ask a question." said Double Dee.

"I don't mind at all, ask away." said Marie.

"On the inside of the music box lid there is an engraving that says "Tabby", do you have any idea what that may mean?" asked Double Dee.

Marie stood up off of the bed and walked over to the music box. Double Dee couldn't help but once again notice the hip sway caused by the high heels that Marie was wearing, as well as the way her dress accented her curves. She opened the music box, and as the familiar tune played once again, she read the engraving.

"That is my mother's name." said Marie.

"Tabby?" asked Double Dee. Marie turned around to look him in the eyes.

"Her full name is Tabitha, but everyone calls her Tabby." said Marie "I guess my Poppy had her name engraved onto the box for her. Now I am definitely sure that this was once my mother's music box."

Marie smiled as she rejoined Double Dee on the bed.

"Double Dee, have you ever seen my mom?" asked Marie.

Double Dee had never thought about that before Marie had asked that question. He had in fact, never seen Tabitha Kanker in the year and a half that he had known Marie.

"You know what, Marie, I really don't think I ever have." said Double Dee.

"I believe you," said Marie, "She is out of the house every day except Sundays. That's the day when we usually do all of the laundry and clean the trailer."

"I know how you feel." said Double Dee, "How many times have you come over here and seen at least one of my parents in the house."

"Well I must have got lucky, because I came when both of them were home." said Marie chuckling.

Both Double Dee and Marie remained silent for a few more seconds before Marie noticed Double Dee had a radio situated next to his computer on his desk.

"I think we need some music to spicen this evening up a little." said Marie as she walked over to the radio and attempted to turn it on.

"That radio isn't in working order yet Marie." said Double Dee, "I've been working on it for the past week and I still don't have all of the components I need to pick up and adequate signal."

Double Dee paused as he thought of a way to give Marie the music she wanted.

"Here, we can use YouTube." said Double Dee as he walked over to his computer.

"What's YouTube?" asked Marie.

"It is a website where people from anywhere in the world can upload videos they have created to the internet for others to see." said Double Dee. "Go ahead, just search for the song you wish to hear."

Double Dee pulled the chair to his computer out for Marie to sit down. Marie reluctantly sat down and stared at the computer screen.

"What do I do?" asked Marie.

Double Dee glanced at the computer screen and noticed that Marie had not even opened the internet browser. Marie broke the silence.

"I'm sorry Double Dee, you probably think I'm an idiot. But I have never used a computer in my life. We could never afford one, and a computer wasn't exactly on my mom's 'top things to buy list'. I never learned how to use one."

Double Dee was quite shocked at the idea of not having his computer, as he used it for so many activities including homework and his own independent research. Nevertheless, he could tell that Marie felt embarrassed at the moment.

"Annemarie, you are really far from being an idiot." said Double Dee, "Just because someone doesn't know how to do something because they have never done it before, doesn't make them an idiot."

Marie smiled at Double Dee as he introduced to her the wonderful world of computing. Marie had eventually forgotten about her music, and was simply having fun learning how to surf the internet. Double Dee sat next to her as she scrolled through pages of nail polish and make-up, things that he wasn't particularly interested in, but nevertheless took part in just to see Marie smile.

The couple laughed and shared jokes as they played around on the computer. Marie eventually tired of the internet and returned back to Double Dees bed. Double Dee joined her.

"Double Dee, thanks for being so patient with me and not knowing how to use the computer. You are really one in a million, most people nowadays would just call me stupid and not even bother to show me." said Marie.

"You are very welcome Marie," said Double Dee, "You definitely seemed happy once you had gotten used to how the internet worked."

"Yeah it was fun!" said Marie as she put her hand on Double Dees.

Marie glanced down at the box containing the necklace that Double Dee had given her. She had almost forgotten her surprise for Double Dee.

"Oooh I almost forgot your surprise cutie!" yelled Marie as she hopped off of the bed and ran towards the door to Double Dees room. "I'll be right back, I left it downstairs!" yelled Marie as she ran down the stairs.

Marie returned shortly holding the tube that she had held previously. She handed it to Double Dee.

"It's inside the tube." said Marie as she blushed and turned away as Double Dee uncapped the tube.

Double Dee pulled a rolled up piece of paper a little smaller than the average poster board size out of the tube, and began unrolling it. Marie glanced over as he unrolled it after which she quickly grabbed it and flipped it over.

"You have to see this side first." said Marie, before turning away once again.

Double Dee stared at the large piece of paper and began reading the words that were on it. At the top of the page, large red letters spelled out:

WHY I LOVE EDWARD MARION SVENSKI

Double Dee turned his attention to the rest of the paper. There were a few highly detailed sketches of him in different poses scattered around the page, each of them with a caption underneath. He read the first one.

He's smart!

The was a detailed picture of Double Dee holding a couple of laboratory flasks in his hands.

He's funny!

There was another picture of Double Dee that detailed his mishap with the fireplace the other night where he bumped his head on the hearth. Double Dee chuckled at the picture.

He's so cute : )

Marie had drawn an extremely detailed picture of Double Dees smiling face.

He is always there for me, no matter what.

Marie had drawn a humorous picture of herself lying on a couch as if in a psychologists office, talking to Double Dee who was sitting on an armchair taking notes. Double Dee couldn't help but crack a smile once again.

He's a great kisser!

Marie had drawn a detailed picture of her and Double Dee kissing on a park bench.

There was no more to read on that side of the paper, prompting Double Dee to flip it over. On the other side was a large detailed drawing of Double Dee lying down on a bed, staring down at Marie, who was laying on his chest snuggling with him, Double Dee had his arm around her as she stared up into his eyes dreamily. There was one more caption under this picture, once again written in large red letters.

HE'S MY EVERYTHING

Double Dee was not only amazed by the amount of detail Marie had put into the drawing but he was amazed that she had taken so much time to put this all together for him.

"It's really cheesy." said Marie breaking the silence.

"It is absolutely not cheesy!" said Double Dee, "I love this Marie and am very thankful that you have given this to me. When did you possibly find the time to do this? This is incredible"

"I started it during art class, remember silly goose." said Marie playfully. Double Dee had completely forgotten about her drawing in art class "I finished it while sitting the back of all of my afternoon classes." Marie chuckled, "I just couldn't think of anything else but you."

"Marie, I am speechless, this is beautiful!" said Double Dee.

"Thanks, I really hoped you liked it." said Marie blushing.

"You don't have to worry about that." said Double Dee

There was a pause, after which Double Dee placed his hand and Maries.

"I love you Marie." said Double Dee as the couples eyes met.

"I love you too, Double Dee." said Marie, as she leaned in and kissed Double Dee on the lips. She pulled away and placed her head on his shoulder. After a few seconds, she repositioned herself to Double Dees lap, and grinned as she looked into his face.

"Double Dee," she said as she looked into his face.

"Yes Marie." said Double Dee, as he smiled at her.

"I think it's that time of the night again." said Marie as she moved her lips towards Double Dees. Double Dee knew what was about to happen.

Marie pushed her lips into his, after which she placed her arms around his neck. Double Dee responded by placing his arms around her waist. Waves of warmth flew over Double Dee as Maries tongue once again made its way into his mouth. Although he had done this a few times before, he still enjoyed it as much as if it was the first time.

Double Dee's pleasurable feelings were soon replaced with nervousness, as Marie began kissing him on the cheek, and gradually moving herself down until she reached his neck. She kissed him all around his neck and then returned to his face. Marie chuckled at Double Dee who was blushing.

"I can tell that that got you going" said Marie giggling as she pushed her lips back into his face.

"How about we continue where we left off the other night before May busted in on us?" said Marie.

Double Dee did not have a chance to respond before he looked down to see Marie's blue fingernails unbuttoning the buttons on his shirt one after the other. Double Dee blushed as Marie looked into his face. She grinned as she pulled the unbuttoned shirt off of him and threw it across the room.

"We won't be needing that for a little while." said Marie as she stood up off of Double Dees lap. "Now we take it even further." said Marie.

"Whatever do you mean Marie?" asked Double Dee nervously.

"I mean this!" said Marie as she yanked Double Dees pants off of his legs in one motion. Double Dee was now a nervous wreck, as he was sitting in front of his girlfriend in just his boxer shorts.

"Marie!" he yelled out of surprise, while he covered himself. Marie chuckled, after which she took notice of Double Dees nervousness.

Double Dees minds wrestled with his hormones for a few seconds. His mind was telling him that this was taking things too far, but his hormones were on a totally different page. Ultimately, his hormones won.

"Alright, now that we get to see your undies." said Marie chuckling, she leaned into his ear to finish her sentence, "You get to see mine."

Marie backed away from Double Dee and kicked her boots off. Double Dees heart raced as he watched Marie undress herself, revealing the red bra that he had caught a glimpse of earlier, as well as a pair of matching panties.

At this point, Double Dees hormones were completely on auto pilot. They forced the shy teenager up off of his bed, and over towards where his girlfriend was standing. He grabbed her around the waist and began kissing her passionately once again. Marie responded by jumping onto him and placing her legs around his waist as she had down earlier that evening.

Thus began the couple's activities for the next twenty minutes. The night played out extremely similarly to the night that Marie surprised Double Dee at his house, most importantly, the event that marked the end of their passionate session. Once the storm had passed, Marie once again laid on her side with her head resting on Double Dees chest. Double Dee loved nothing more than the feeling of Marie's warm mid-section resting against his.

"Double Dee, I love you so much!" she said as she smiled dreamily into his eyes.

"I love you too Marie, more than you can ever imagine." said Double Dee as he leaned down and kissed Maries forehead. Marie smiled at him.

"So what made you decide to get me a necklace?" asked Marie.

"Hmm, well there was this one time last summer that Eddy thought up a scam that would appeal to girls. All of the boys from the cul-de-sac had gone Go-Karting that day, so it was just us Ed's, Ed's sister, Nazz, and Jimmy."

A wave of quick jealousy shot through Maries veins at the sound of Nazz's name, as she remembered how she had to be tortured watching her grab and dance with Double Dee at one of the school dances. Her jealousy passed as she thought about her time with Double Dee over the past few days, and all of the things he has done to help her through everything. Double Dee truly loved her, and she felt amazing having his love, a love nobody else could possibly have.

"Eddy decided to sell gold jewelry to the girls, as he saw their fascination with it earlier that day. So he had Ed dip various household objects in gold paint and pass them off as jewelry." said Double Dee.

Double Dee paused.

"Seeing as you're a girl, I figured you'd be obsessed with jewelry as well." he said jokingly.

Marie laughed.

"Did you make any money with that scam?" asked Marie as she chuckled.

"No, like most of the scams Eddy concocted, it was doomed to fail miserably." said Double Dee, "I can only think of one of Eddy's scams off the top of my head that seemed as if it would have been a success, but ultimately failed due to unexpected circumstances."

"And what were the unexpected circumstances?" asked Marie smiling.

"Well, I think you will recall it just as well as I did." said Double Dee chuckling, "It was around the end of June, and Ed and I were in my room as I was finishing up a jigsaw puzzle. All of the sudden, Eddy showed up and said that he had an idea for the greatest scam ever. He had with him, a giant black inner tube that he said he found in the junkyard. After around an hour, Eddy had turned the old inner tube into a giant tire swing that the kids could ride for a fee. Of course, I was volunteered to be the first to test the apparatus, and to my dismay, the string broke and the inner tube and I plunged into the creek. Seeing the tube keeping me afloat gave Eddy an idea for a scam. Before we knew it, we were sailing down the creek on the inner tube, with Johnny and Jimmy on board. Surprisingly Rolf fell for the charade as well, although there was not enough room on the tube for him."

Double Dee paused.

"So we sailed smoothly for around ten minutes, when all of the sudden, Ed spotted another ship from the crow's nest trailing behind us." said Double Dee.

"I definitely know where this is going." said Marie as she chuckled.

"You girls somehow managed to show up a boat, and cause nothing but mayhem." said Double Dee laughing.

"Hey, but at least you got your first kiss from me at the end." said Marie.

"In hindsight, I guess it wasn't that bad then." said Double Dee.

"Get outta here!" yelled Marie playfully as she smiled and slapped Double Dees bare chest, "We had to tie you up with ropes in order to get you to stay still so that we could kiss you!"

The couple laughed before Marie began speaking again.

"Although we were pretty pissed when that kid with the big head ripped our only bed sheet at the time." said Marie laughing. "I can't believe that we actually took the money you earned on a couple of occasions. We really were bitches weren't we."

"Hmm no comment." said Double Dee, as he chuckled.

"Ooooh you!" said Marie as she straddled Double Dee and began play slapping him in the face. They spent the next few minutes playfully fighting each other and rolling around on the bed before they eventually tired. Marie retook her place on Double Dees chest. Marie decided to break the silence once again.

"Double Dee, did you have any good friends back in New Hope?" asked Marie.

"To be honest with you Marie, I hardly ever went outside back then, except if I was playing in the backyard." said Double Dee. "Don't get me wrong, I did have friends from school who I conversed with on a daily basis, but they weren't anywhere near as close as the friendships I have with Ed and Eddy. I suppose I would have to say that the person I played with the most back then was James."

"How did you meet Ed and Eddy anyway?" asked Marie.

"Well, it's quite a long story." said Double Dee, "I remember it was a few days after we had settled in to this house. I was around eight years old, and it was a few months since James had passed. We lived with my Aunt after we lost the house until my parents found this one here in Peach Creek."

Double Dee took a breath and continued his story.

"I was watching Pokemon on television in the den downstairs when the doorbell rang. My mother was home that day and answered the door to be greeted by Ms. Fullerton, Ed's mom. Ed's mom invited us over to her house to chat, being the friendly person she is. Ms. Fullerton suggested that my mother take me downstairs to meet her son and his friend. The two women took me downstairs and introduced me to Ed and Eddy who were playing with action figures in his room. After a few minutes of talking in Ed's room, the adults allowed us to go out into Ed's backyard to play. Eddy came up with a game I can't quite remember that involved fake money, and swindled me into giving my whole share to him. I guess I was one of the first victims of Eddy's scams."

Double Dee began laughing. Marie joined in.

"Eddy really loves his money doesn't he?" asked Marie while laughing.

"Oh yes Marie, you'd be surprised at how much genius he shows when he believes he will get a pretty penny. If he spent as much brainpower applying himself in school as he does when he thinks of ways to earn money, he would be a straight A student!" said Double Dee.

Marie began laughing, Double Dee joined in not too long afterwards. After the laughter died down, Double Dee asked another question.

"Did you have any good friends before you moved to Peach Creek?" asked Double Dee.

Marie sat in silence for a few seconds before she began speaking.

"I always considered Lee and May my best friends as well as my sisters and have always hung out with them more than others." said Marie, "Then again, nobody else even wanted to give us a chance."

"What do you mean Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"People in the area I grew up in were really quick to judge others." said Marie, "In fact, I can remember on our first day of Kindergarten, my mother brought us to the school to register us. While my mother was filling out the papers, we ran around the school yard mingling with the other students. At one point, while we were climbing on the jungle gym, another little girl came up and decided to play with us. After a few minutes, her father came over and grabbed her. I can remember looking over at her as her father kneeled down to her and pointed towards us, making a gesture with his face as if saying 'don't play with those girls'"

Double Dee placed his other arm around Marie, who was still lying in the bed and embraced her as she spoke.

"The judging wasn't just restricted to the parents." said Marie, "When I first sat down in the classroom in kindergarten, the teacher wanted us all to form groups where we would get to know each other. One of the girls in my group immediately noticed this."

Marie pushed her black hair out of her right eye.

"She kept asking me 'what's wrong with your eye?' over and over again. The other student joined in on the question, some of the girls and boys made fun of me and laughed and made jokes."

Double Dee rubbed his hand on Maries shoulder as he continued to listen.

"It didn't help that my mom didn't even make sure we looked presentable. All three of us went to school every day with tangles in our hair. If it wasn't for Lee eventually stepping in and taking responsibility, we would have continued to go to school like that."

Marie seemed as if she was attempting to hold back tears once again, Double Dee embraced her even tighter.

"As I got older, it only got worse. People would stare at us as we walked down the hallway. I myself would always be referred to as Lazy Eye Marie. Lee received a lot of teasing from people, due to her poor dental hygiene. May had a speech impediment as a little girl, thankfully the speech therapy at the public school was free, and she was pulled out of the classroom to go to the therapist to correct it. Nevertheless, her overbite and speech impediment led to a lot of teasing for her as well. After a while, we sort of ignored it and kept to ourselves. Eventually, a combination of home life issues and the constant teasing drove use over the edge, and we decided to become the bullies that you have become very familiar with. I never found acceptance from other girls, due to being not girly enough. I never felt beautiful or feminine in my life. I guess that's what made me decide to adopt my 'punk' look, with the blue hair and all of that stuff."

Marie paused before looking up into Double Dees eyes.

"Forget those people Marie," said Double Dee, "None of them are even worth your time if they were that quick to judge you based on an uncontrollable physical characteristic."

Marie smiled at Double Dee.

"Double Dee, you are my hero." said Marie. "When I watched you and saw how nice and polite you were to others, even to Ed's sister and Kevin who were complete jerks, I knew there were good people in the world. Lee and May were just attracted to your friends for their looks, but I really admired your amazing personality."

Double Dee smiled at Marie as she paused.

"Well at least that's one thing I can say to my sisters." said Marie

"What is that?" asked Double Dee.

"I not only got the hottest man in Peach Creek, but I also have the one who treats me the best." said Marie.

The couple smiled at each other and shared a long passionate kiss. Before they knew it, the time had flown by and it was already quarter past eleven.

"I should probably get going, it's pretty late." said Marie.

"Yes, I guess it's time again to say goodbye." said Double Dee.

Marie got up out of the bed and proceeded to get dressed as Double Dee did the same. After they were finished, the couple walked towards the bedroom door, at which point Double Dee glanced over at the music box.

"Marie, don't forget your mothers box." said Double Dee as he handed the box to Marie.

"Phew thanks Oven Mitt, I almost forgot it again." said Marie as she kissed Double Dee on the cheek.

The couple descended the staircase and approached the front door.

"Don't forget, you're coming over to the trailer for some movies tomorrow night." said Marie smiling as they reached the front door.

"Don't worry Angel, I won't forget." Said Double Dee as Marie began opening the door. As the cold air hit their faces, Marie turned around and wrapped her arms around Double Dees neck as she touched her lips to his gently. After a few seconds she pulled away.

"I love you Double Dee," she said, smiling into his eyes.

"I love you so much Marie," said Double Dee, as he embraced her once again.

"Good night Double Dee, I'll see you tomorrow." said Marie as she began walking towards th


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

At around the same time as Double Dee and Marie were redressing themselves, Lee and May were back in the trailer park spending their time watching infomercials. As the advertisements rolled on the screen, Lee had realized that she had something that she needed to clear up.

"Yo May." said Lee, "I got something to take care of, I'll be right back."

May remained focused on the TV ignoring her sister.

"May!" yelled Lee as she threw a water bottle at her.

"Geez Lee, you don't have to yell." said May.

"I'm goin out for a few minutes, I got some business to take care of." said Lee.

"Alright, whatever." said May as Lee walked out the front door of the trailer.

Lee walked out of the trailer and up to the fence that separated the lane from the trailer park. She hopped the fence into the lane and again hopped the opposite fence to find herself in Eddy's yard. She quickly scurried through the yard and approached the window to his room. Eddy came into view from his bathroom door, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. He was dancing as if he was listening to music. Lee waited near his door until Eddy removed his towel. Lee then flung the sliding door open with force.

"What the hell! What are ya doin here?" yelled an irritated Eddy as he reached for his towel to cover himself, surprised by his visitor. Lee chuckled.

"I guess it is true what they say that big things come in small packages!" said Lee while she laughed.

"Get out of my room Kanker!" yelled Eddy as he reached for a pair of boxer shorts and slid them on quickly.

"Not so fast shrimp!" yelled Lee as she walked over to him and grabbed him, pinning him up against the wall.

"Listen little man." said Lee as she stared into Eddy's fearful eyes. "The plan's off."

Eddy stared at Lee confused for a second before he began speaking again.

"What do ya mean the plan is off?" asked Eddy, "You hate what's goin on just as much as me what gives?"

"What gives is that I changed my mind!" yelled Lee, "And you're gonna accept that, and you're gonna like it."

Lee leaned especially close to his face.

"And you would be very wise to not try to pull anything behind my back." said Lee.

Eddy stared at Lee annoyed.

"So do we have an understandin' here?" asked Lee.

Eddy shook his head, after which Lee let him go.

"Great, now that wasn't so bad was it?" asked Lee, "Now for the fun!"

Lee grabbed Eddy's boxers and yanked them down to the floor, at which point Eddy screamed. After the scream the sound of footsteps walking down the hall filled the room.

"Too bad your parents are home, cause I would have given ya the ride of your life!" said Lee as she bolted back out of Eddy's door, leaving Eddy to deal with covering himself properly before his mother entered the room to check on him.

By coincidence, as Lee left the trailer, Marie was on her way through the construction site. She arrived at the trailer a few seconds after Lee left and entered to find May sitting on the couch stuffing Doritos into her mouth. May looked up at Marie as she entered the door.

"Hey you," said May, "How was your night with your man?"

Marie paused with a serious look on her face before smiling from ear to ear.

"It was amazing!" she yelled.

"Awesome" said May, "I can tell that you had fun," said May as she giggled.

"Well duh, I probably look tired because it's late." replied Marie.

"No." said May as she grinned and lifted her head up, pointing to the side of her neck.

A wave of nervousness flew through Marie. She ran to the mirror that was on the wall and looked at her neck. Sure enough there was a small bruise like contusion located a little above her collarbone. Although she did not want that to happen, she couldn't be mad at Double Dee for it.

"Damn it!" yelled Marie, as she turned to May. After a few seconds both girls giggled. May took notice of the music box she was holding.

"What's that, a present from Double Dee?" asked May.

"No," said Marie, "Where is Lee?"

"She said she had something to take care of and then left." said May.

"Where'd she go this late at night?" asked Marie.

"Beats me." said May.

"Alright then, I'll show you two when she gets back." said Marie. She paused before continuing.

"But Double Dee did surprise me with something."

"Really?" said May.

Marie pulled the necklace box out of her pocket and opened it, showing May the necklace. Both girls laughed and jumped with excitement, at which point Lee returned to the trailer. She flung the front door to the trailer open and entered, spotting Marie and May.

"Alright let's here it, how was your night." yelled Lee as she walked through the door , not even greeting Marie before she jumped right to the details.

"It was amazing Lee," said Marie, "How was your night of sitting around getting fat."

"Hey! It's called a girlish figure, try getting one before you have anything to say." yelled Lee as she set eyes on the music box.

"What's wit the treasure chest?" asked Lee.

Marie explained to her sisters how she had come across the music box in their grandfather's house the night Lee had kicked her out. She showed her sisters the engraving and opened the music box to show them the silver figurine. The two sisters were quite excited.

After around five minutes of talking, May chimed in.

"Look what Double Dee got for Marie!" yelled May as she snatched the jewelry box out of Maries hand and opened it in Lee's face.

"Whoah, this guy must be freakin' loaded, all's we ever get is the crap that turns our skin green!" yelled Lee, making her sisters laugh. Lee then took notice of Marie's neck.

"Oooooh Marie," said Lee laughing, "I see Double Dee went to town on ya tonight!"

Marie blushed as May and Lee giggled, Marie eventually joined in on the fun.

Lee sat down on the couch and asked May to get her and Marie sodas. The girls sat down and discussed Marie's night, including some things about the "physical" portion of it, causing a few laughs and giggles amongst the girls.

"Didn't I tell ya Marie?" asked Lee, "I'm an expert on dressing for men. Just remember this little tip; the best way to get a man to do what ya want, is to use those two weapons ya got there on your chest. Even Double Dee couldn't resist them."

The girls laughed as Marie continued sharing her experiences of the night. Eventually, they tired and decided to retreat to their king sized bed upstairs. Marie should have probably been in bed earlier, as it was her turn to go to work with her mother the next day, and she had to get up early to work breakfast at the restaurant. Nevertheless, she was glad that she was able to have a wonderful night with her boyfriend, and thought about spending another great night with him as she eventually dozed off into a deep sleep.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

Yet another Saturday morning had hit the Peach Creek cul-de-sac, and it was a beautiful one. It was 9:00 a.m. and Double Dee had been up for a few hours, performing tasks that were left on sticky notes for him. When he had finished, he began working on the radio that Marie had questioned him about the previous night. It wasn't even fifteen minutes after he started working when he heard a series of loud bangs on his front door.

Double Dee ran downstairs to see what all of the commotion was, although he had a pretty good idea of who was responsible. Of course, he opened the door to find Ed and Eddy standing in front of him. They were both wearing hockey pads and both had pairs of inline skates with the laces ties together hanging over their shoulders. Eddy was holding another set of skates in his left hand, while his right hand grasped a hockey stick. Double Dee had realized that the loud noise he had heard while upstairs was Eddy pounding his door with the hockey stick.

"Mornin sock head, how are things goin for ya?" asked Eddy, smiling.

Double Dee turned his head around to look at his front door. There was already a dent in it from the previous summer when Eddy had used a metal shovel as a door knocker. He wanted to be sure that there was no further damage to the door.

"Eddy, may I ask why you once again decided to pound on my door with a large blunt object?" asked Double Dee.

"Geez Double Dee, what do you think we would do, it's not like there is a magic button that will sound a soothing chime to alert you that we are at the door." replied Ed in his dimwitted voice.

"Lumpy's got a point." said Eddy as he laughed.

"I am surrounded by idiots." mumbled Double Dee.

"Double Dee, change into something you don't care about, cause we got a hockey game goin' on at the playground." said Eddy.

"Eddy, you know I don't much care for team sports." said Double Dee as he groaned, "And besides, I don't own any of the equipment needed to participate in this endeavor!"

"No problem Double Dee," said Eddy, "I have an extra pair. They were my idiot brothers when he was a kid."

"Thank you Eddy, but I'd rather go inside and…" Double Dee could not finish his sentence as Ed had taken the liberty to pick him up over his shoulder and begin carrying him toward the playground.

"Come on mister. Let's go get you a potato." said Ed as Eddy laughed.

Double Dee sighed as he was being carried away by Ed with Eddy walking beside him.

"That's the spirit Double Dee!" yelled Eddy as the three boys walked toward the hockey rink.

The hockey rink was quite large, about 50 feet long. There were no goal nets installed in the ring; Eddy and Kevin had taken metal trash cans from their yards and had used them as goals. Kevin and Rolf were currently in the rink with all of their equipment. Nazz, Sarah and Jimmy were also present, with Nazz painting Sarah's nails while they sat on the jungle gym.

Kevin once again demonstrated his athletic prowess, skating quickly around the rink with the ball and performing slap shots into the trash can, causing an audible metal thud every time he did so. Rolf however was a completely different story. As much as he tried, he could barely stay up on his skates without falling over. He eventually became frustrated.

"Poppycock!" he yelled, "Rolfs keester grows tender. I demand of you the secret to using these bizarre contraptions."

Jimmy, hearing of Rolf's problem, ran over to the hockey rink to assist.

"Well first of all Rolf, you're shoe laces are far too loose." said Jimmy in his usual high pitched voice. "Dangling shoelaces, in addition to being a fashion no-no, can cause you to trip and cause nasty and unsightly scratches. Allow me to fix you up."

Jimmy quickly untied Rolf's skates and adjusted them so that the laces were tighter as Kevin stood watching him do so.

"Now that your skates are prepared, let's try moving shall we?" said Jimmy, "First, you need to use this foot to push your other skate forward."

"Hey Rolf, if I were you, I would let me do all of the teaching." said Kevin. "When have you ever seen Jimmy play any kind of sport!"

Kevin began laughing.

"I mean look at his puny arms!" yelled Kevin.

Jimmy began appearing as if he was going to cry. Sarah and Nazz took notice.

"Hey Kev, lay off him man!" yelled Nazz as Sarah ran over to Jimmy.

"Relax babe, I'm just playin' with him." said Kevin as he was holding back a chuckle.

Sarah had made her way over to Jimmy and had her arm around his shoulder.

"It's okay Jimmy," said Sarah, "Who needs rough sports anyway?"

"No!" yelled Jimmy as he began walking out of the park, "I have been humiliated for the last time, I'll show all of you!"

"Jimmy wait!" yelled Sarah as she ran after Jimmy. Jimmy ran around the corner and disappeared, after which the Ed's appeared from around the fence, taking notice of Jimmy and Sarah running away.

"What's with the squirts running away?" asked Eddy.

"Nothing I just made a little joke about Jimmy and he freaked out." said Kevin, "He of all people was trying to teach Rolf how to skate."

Kevin and Eddy busted out laughing. Their laughing was interrupted by Rolf who was laughing as if having fun. He was now skating around the rink with no problem, as the rest of the boys watched in awe.

"Look at me, I have finally mastered the art of the wheeled sneaker!" yelled Rolf.

"I'll chalk that up to hard work and practice." said Kevin, "Now let's go, I've been waiting forever."

"Alright," said Eddy as he put on goalie pads, "Since there's only five of us, I'll be steady goalie. You guys won't get nothin' through me." said Eddy as he grinned

"Dream on dork!" yelled Kevin, "Alright, so it's me and Rolf against Ed and Double Dee."

"Come on Double Dee get your skates on!" yelled Ed as he threw Double Dee on the bench and tore his shoes off.

"Okay mister, now bend your foot." said Ed as he shoved the skates onto Double Dees feet. Double Dee was now in roller skates and as ready as he ever would be to play hockey.

"Ed, I don't believe I'm sure I want to do this." said Double Dee.

"FORE!" Ed shouted, confused at which sport he was playing, as he shoved Double Dee out onto the rink with a hockey stick. Double Dee could barely hold himself up on skates, and rolled for a little ways before coasting to a stop in the middle of the rink, sweating out of pure nervousness.

Before he knew it, the ball was in play. Kevin hit the ball away with his stick, sending it directly into Double Dees possession. Double Dee watched helplessly as Kevin and Rolf charged him; with a single body check, the ball was now in Kevin's possession, and Double Dee was flat on the ground. As Double Dee recovered, he looked up to see Kevin about to make a slap shot at Eddy. Kevin hit the ball, only for it to be caught by Eddy in his glove.

"I told ya I'm an impedible fortress!" said Eddy as he laughed.

"I believe you mean impenetrable Eddy!" yelled Double Dee as he attempted to get back up.

"Let me have a go!" yelled a familiar voice.

The group of boys turned around to see Jimmy once again. He was dressed in hockey clothes and wearing a hockey mask. In his right hand, he carried a red hockey stick.

Kevin and Eddy laughed at Jimmy once again.

"Are you saying you want to challenge us to a game of hockey?" yelled Kevin.

"Just pass the ball…dork!" said Jimmy.

Kevin was stunned at hearing his own word directed at him coming out of Jimmy's mouth.

"Jimmy!" yelled Sarah, "You don't have to prove anything to these losers!"

"I can handle this girlfriend." said Jimmy, "Just trust me, I'll give these jerks the old one two buckle my shoe."

The rest of the boys began laughing even harder.

"Alright man, I warned ya." said Kevin as he passed the ball to Jimmy.

As soon as Jimmy received the ball, he began skating towards the goal Eddy was guarding, handling the ball like the pros do. Kevin was quick to get in front of him and try to steal the ball. Jimmy performed a slide maneuver with his skates and easily dodged Kevin's assault, stunning the young athlete.

Double Dee had just gotten to his feet and to his misfortune happened to be right in front of Jimmy when he did. Jimmy took this as a threat to his offense, and in a split second, Double Dee was once again body checked to the ground.

"No way." yelled Eddy as he watched Jimmy approach. Before he knew it, Jimmy was directly in front of him, about to perform a slap shot. Jimmy's stance intimidated Eddy, to the point that Eddy stepped out of the way and allowed Jimmy full access to the goal.

All of the boys were absolutely stunned at the athletic prowess that Jimmy had just displayed. They could not believe that he had just bested Kevin, the self-proclaimed best athlete in Peach Creek. Jimmy skated back over to Sarah. Kevin and Eddy were furious that they were just bested by Jimmy.

"Jimmy that was amazing!" yelled Sarah as she hugged her friend, "You really showed them."

"All in a days work!" said Jimmy while he smiled.

It was around noon when the boys had finally tired of playing hockey. The Ed's were on their way back to the cul-de-sac, conversing about their day.

"Who would have known that Jimmy's dad forced him to play hockey for the junior league, I thought the kid was a pansy." said an irritated Eddy.

"You know what they say Eddy," said Ed, "Don't judge a cover by it's book."

"I believe the proverb is 'don't judge a book by its cover', Ed." said Double Dee as he held his back and wretched in pain. "Jimmy's surprising demonstration of athletic prowess has left me with contusions that will last for days!"

"Relax sock-head, I've got a heating pad at home. Or better yet, why don't we just get Marie, to come over and kiss your boo boos." said Eddy in a baby talk voice as he folded his hands to his face as if making fun of Double Dee.

Ed and Eddy laughed as Double Dee began to drift off into a daydream about Marie at the sound of her name. His dream was interrupted when he felt Eddy's hand slap his back, causing a wave of pain from the bruises that were already present.

"Ah we're just yankin ya Sockhead," said Eddy, "You're still goin over to her house tonight right."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." said Double Dee smiling

As the boys reached the inlet to the cul-de-sac, they heard a pair of familiar voices yell from across the street.

"HIYA BOYS!" said the voices of Lee and May Kanker as they crossed the street carrying bags of what appeared to be groceries.

"Kankers." said Eddy under his breath.

"Uh oh May, it looks like our manly men have been playing some hockey." said Lee.

Eddy groaned in an annoyed manner while the two sisters shared a laugh.

"Hey Double Dee!" said May, "Marie is out with our mom today, but she told us to tell you she can't wait to see you tonight at the trailer."

"Hello May," said Double Dee, after which he looked into Lees eyes, "Hello Lee, I am especially looking forward to seeing her as well." he said nervously

May walked over to Ed and leaned into his face. Ed was petrified.

"You're welcome to join us too, Big Ed!" said May as she smiled up at Ed's face. Ed winced back away from her.

"Alright May, get a hold of yourself," said Lee, "It's bad enough I got one of ya in love I don't need you goin all soft on me too." said Lee jokingly as she pulled May away from the boys.

"See ya later boys!" said Lee as she walked away, "And Double Dee your woman will be waiting for you at seven o'clock, so don't be late!"

Lee and May walked away, giggling with each other as Double Dee smiled. The other two Ed's stood shocked. Eddy or Ed could not believe that they had just had an encounter with two Kanker sisters without ending up covered in lipstick or being beat up in some manner.

Eddy began to wonder if it was all that bad that Double Dee had intimate connections with the Kanker sisters. It could save him and Ed a deal of grief from the other two sisters. He began to wrestle with the advantages of having the sisters on their side; Double Dee could call on them to remove pests such as Sarah or Johnny 2x4 quite easily, as the intimidating prescience of the sisters was enough to cause most of the neighborhood to scatter.

Although there were many advantages, Eddy knew that he and Ed were still targets of the other Kanker sisters, as Lee had demonstrated the previous night when she infiltrated his room. With these realizations, the fact that Double Dee hasn't had time to spend with him, and other personal reasons, Eddy decided that he would have to take matters into his own hands, and form a plan of his own to break Marie and Double Dee apart.

"Eddy," called Double Dee, breaking him away from his thoughts, "I'm going to go lie down, the pain is excruciating."

"Alright Sock Head." said Eddy, "I guess we won't see you for the rest of the night then. Me and Ed are going to his place to play video games. I'll catch ya later." said Eddy

"Farewell gentleman, have fun." said Double Dee as he walked up the path to his house.

As Double Dee showered and relaxed his back, Eddy and Ed were once again in his basement playing video games. Ed's room was unusually tidy, due to his mother forcing him to clean it the day before; it was only a matter of hours before it would be reduced to its usual messy state once again.

Ed was lying on the floor, holding his game controller focused on the TV, as Eddy paced back and forth across the floor.

"Its insanity." said Eddy, as he paced across the floor, "The Kanker sisters are no good!"

Ed was so in tune to the video game he was playing that he was not listening to anything Eddy was saying.

"We gotta do somethin' about this, for our friend!" yelled Eddy, "But what?"

Eddy stood still and thought for a few minutes.

"We're just gonna have to pay him a little visit tonight when he gets home to dig up some dirt." said Eddy as he grinned. "Sound like a plan Ed?"

The game had ended and Ed had broken out of his trance only to hear 'Sound like a plan Ed.' Ed, being the absentminded adolescent he was and having no idea what was going on, unwittingly agreed to take part in Eddy's charade.

"Your wish is my wisdom tooth Eddy!" yelled Ed as he started a new game, once again entering his video game trance.

"Perfect." said Eddy as he grinned.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

It was now 6:30 p.m. and Double Dee was feeling much better after his cold shower. Nevertheless, his stomach was filled with butterflies. He was about to voluntarily enter the Kanker residence with all three girls home, a feat which was not dared to be tried by anyone in the cul-de-sac. Even though Marie had spent the most time harassing him, Lee was the sister that intimidated him the most, and he was still quite intimidated even though Marie had promised that Lee accepted the relationship.

Double Dee fixed the black turtle neck sweater he was wearing before adjusting his ski hat. He adjusted the blue jeans he was wearing and inspected himself once again before grabbing his coat. As he grabbed his coat, he took notice of the poster that Marie had made for him that was sitting on his desk. He couldn't help but smile as he re read all of the captions. Marie was truly in love with him and trusted him with all of her heart. He felt exactly the same way as she did.

Double Dee made his way down the stairs, and towards the front door. His heart raced as he once again walked down the gravel path through his lawn and across the street toward the construction site. As he approached the trailer, he could hear the sisters yelling from the upstairs window, arguing over makeup and hairspray.

Double Dee walked up to the trailer door. He opened the screen door and knocked on the inner door. As soon as he knocked on the door, the yelling was silenced, and was replaced by whispering and girlish giggles. Double Dee then heard the sisters arguing over who would answer the door first. The sound of footsteps moving quickly down the stairs filled the air, and before Double Dee knew it, the inner door had begun to open, revealing Lee standing behind it.

"Damn it." said Lee, "I thought it was the electric man." she said while chuckling, Double Dee appeared extremely nervous, and began sweating once again.

"Loosen up stiff, I'm just jackin' ya!" said Lee as she smiled, "Get in here your woman's waitin' for ya!"

Lee grabbed Double Dee by the hand and pulled him into the trailer. As the two entered the trailer, May had just finished descending the staircase.

"Hi Double Dee!" said May as she waved her fingers at him.

"Hello again May." said Double Dee smiling, as he had become quite comfortable around May.

Lee walked Double Dee over to the couch and shoved him down into a sitting position.

"Don't be shy, make yourself at home, take of your shoes, stay awhile!" said Lee. She turned her attention to May and snapped her fingers.

"May, get our guest something to drink!" yelled Lee.

"You're lucky I'm doing this for Double Dee, or I'd tell you to get off your ass and do something for once." said May as she walked into the kitchen.

"Yeah up yours May." said Lee under her breath as she collapsed onto the couch next to Double Dee, watching television. Double Dee couldn't help but notice that the same bag of popcorn he, Marie, and May were eating a few nights prior was still sitting on the coffee table. To make matters worse, Lee was pulling kernels out of it and stuffing them in her mouth.

"MARIE!" Lee yelled up the stairs, "What's takin' ya Double Dee's here to see ya!"

"Hold your horses Lee!" snarled Marie as she descended the stairs, still attempting to place an earring in her right ear on the way down. Her irritated face soon turned to beautiful smile as soon as she laid eyes on Double Dee. His nervousness disappeared as he smiled back at his beautiful girlfriend. Marie was wearing a form fitting red shirt that slightly exposed her midsection above her black jeans. She was not wearing any shoes, but had black socks with yellow coloring on the section where her toes would be.

"Hello Double Dee," said Marie in calm gentle voice. Double Dee rose off of the couch as Marie walked over toward him.

"Hello Marie, I have missed your dearly." said Double Dee. Marie placed her arms around him and hugged him tightly. Double Dee placed his arms around her waist and slightly lifted her off of the floor. Even the tough Lee Kanker couldn't help but crack a smile at the couple sharing a genuine embrace.

"I hope your hungry Double Dee." said May, "Cause we're making our Kanker burgers again."

"I know I am." said Lee as she got up from the couch, walking toward the kitchen. "Let's go May, the love birds need their time alone."

Lee and May walked into the kitchen to begin making supper. As the girls argued in the kitchen about who would handle making which part of the meal, Marie turned to Double Dee and put her arms around him.

"So," she said smiling, "How was my Double Dees day without me? Lee and May said that they saw you coming from a hockey game on their way home from the supermarket, how'd that go?"

"Let's just say that I'm not the best athlete in the world Marie." said Double Dee as he and Marie chuckled slightly.

"Marie!" yelled May, "You want powdered milk with your burger?"

"Sure!" yelled Marie.

"How about you Double Dee." yelled May.

"Sure I'll take a glass of milk, if you'd be so kind." said Double Dee.

It didn't take long for the sisters to finish cooking the burgers. Lee called everyone out to the kitchen to claim their food, after which everyone returned to the living room. Lee sat on a chair that she had dragged out from the kitchen, while May joined Marie and Double Dee on the couch.

Double Dee watched in awe as Lee and May inhaled their food as if they had never eaten before. This display was obviously due to the sister being able to eat something other than hotdogs for a change. Marie, would have most likely eaten this way as well, but showed restraint in front of her boyfriend out of politeness. Double Dee ate slowly, being as careful as he usually did as to not get messy.

Before they knew it, everyone was finished eating. After a few minutes of watching television, Lee remembered something.

"Oh yeah Marie." said Lee, "Wait till you see what we found while you were at work."

Lee ran upstairs snickering.

"I hope you know that she found the old video cassettes Marie." said May. Marie turned as red as a beet.

"I'm back!" yelled Lee as she walked down the stairs holding several VHS cassettes.

"Lee, don't you dare put those tapes on!" said Marie as she ran over to her sister. Lee reached her hand out and pressed it to her forehead, stopping her in her tracks. Marie began trying to wrestle the tapes out of Lee's hands.

"What's the matter Marie, afraid of being embarrassed, it's just you as a baby." said Lee chuckling, "If I really wanted to embarrass ya, I'd tell Double Dee what you were saying in your sleep last night!"

"Shut up Lee!" said Marie as she continued to attempt to wrestle the tapes from Lees hand. Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle at the calamity he was witnessing.

Lee began breathing heavily in between words as she attempted to make fun of what Marie was saying in her sleep the previous night.

"Oh Double Dee!" said Lee, making fun of her sister, "Give it to me, don't stop!"

Lee began laughing. May joined in on the fun while Double Dee sat on the couch embarrassed. May glanced over at him.

"It's true." whispered May.

Marie was now extremely embarrassed and reacted accordingly.

"I said shut up Lee!" yelled Marie as she punched her sister in the arm. Lee simply continued laughing.

"May catch!" yelled Lee as she tossed one of the VHS tapes to her sister. May stood up and ran to the VCR, placing the tape into the machine.

"I will never forgive you for doing this." said Marie in a gravely tone, although she was joking for the most part.

"Oh relax Marie, Double Dees gonna love it." said Lee.

Although May had inserted the tape, the television displayed a black screen.

"May, what the hell did you break the tape." yelled Lee.

"No it's the stupid VCR!" yelled May back as she fumbled with the tape. "It eats any tape when we first put it in."

May finished rewinding the tape back into its case. She reinserted the tape back into the VCR, and allowed it to play.

Double Dee watched as a poor quality video played on the screen. There was a little girl about 4 years old with red hair sitting on an old chair, smiling and squeezing her hands together as if she was excited. Next to her was a little black haired girl in a pink dress that was smiling as well. Next to the chair was a high chair, in which a toddler with short blonde hair was sitting covered in red spaghetti sauce. A deep voice of a man came from behind the camera, asking the little girls what they were doing as if pretending to interview them.

"That's my grandpa behind the camera talking to us." said Marie to Double Dee. Double Dee smiled as he listened to the dialogue in the video.

_"Annalee, what's your favorite thing to do?" said Poppy_

_"Umm…" said the young Lee in a high pitched voice. Lee stumbled, "I dunno."_

_Lee was acting as if she was shy._

_"Come on you have to have something you like." said Poppy in a child friendly voice._

_"I like playing with my little sister." said the young Lee, smiling._

Double Dee could not believe that the little girl on the television was the same, gruff and domineering red headed girl that he had come to know.

_"Awww" said Poppy, "Why don't you give Annemarie a hug?"_

_Lee paused while staring at the camera, before grabbing Marie, and pulling her into a hug while smiling. Young Marie seemed very confused as she stared at the camera and tried to make sense of what was going on._

_"What about Annamae?" asked Poppy, "I think she wants a hug too!"_

_Young Lee took one look at the 2 year old May sitting in her high chair and turned back to the camera._

_"She'll get me messy Poppy!" yelled Lee, causing their grandfather to laugh._

May was quite embarrassed as her face was turning red.

_The camera panned to the left. There was another man leaning down over the high chair, wiping the sauce off of May's face. He had blonde hair and a slight five-o-clock shadow on his face. Young May looked up into the man's face as he cleaned her off._

"That's my Dad." said Marie, as Double Dee continued to watch the home movies with the girls.

The video displayed visual snow before abruptly changing to a rather embarrassing scene; bath time for Marie and May.

"What the hell Lee!" yelled Marie as she ran to the VCR and ejected the tape. Both May and Marie were embarrassed beyond belief as Lee laughed maniacally.

"I guess I chose the right one!" she said as she laughed. Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle as he sat on the couch. Marie was infuriated and embarrassed at the same time.

"C'mon Marie, lighten up we gotta show your man a good time, he's our guest!" said a chuckling Lee.

"Easy for you to say!" yelled May, "Let's watch one that will embarrass you!"

May wrestled a random tape out of Lee's hand and placed it in the VCR. The tape displayed snow.

"Ha nice try May, there ain't nothing on this tape!" said Lee

Just then the snow broke and the video displayed the wall of the trailer, as the voices of May and Marie argued about how to operate the camera. The video flickered for a second before displaying the door to the trailer.

_"I'm a movie star!" said May, as she entered the trailer door, wearing large sunglasses, as well as a trucker's hat with the brim facing backwards. May then displayed bags that she was holding to the camera. Lee appeared from outside the trailer and shoved May down._

_"Marie, get that camera out of my face!" yelled Lee as she moved her hand toward the camera, causing the picture to return to visual snow once again._

"Ha!" yelled Lee, "I remember this, this was last summer! Hey Double Dee, you and your boys are on this tape too, watch!"

Double Dee searched his memories before he finally remembered the day the Kanker sisters had pretended to be on vacation to annoy he and his friends. His memories were interrupted by hearing Marie's voice on the television. He turned his attention back to the screen to see himself on the video. He was attempting to pull what appeared to be the brim of a large hat that was stuck around his waist off of his body. The brim made him look like he was wearing a tutu. All three girls laughed as Double Dee turned red out of embarrassment.

_"Cute." said Marie's voice from behind the camera. "How bout a little hula hula?"_

_Double Dee struggled to remove the brim, which made him look as if he was hula dancing._

_"Hey Marie, get me with Eddy!", yelled Lee's voice off camera. "HELLO! MARIE FILM M.."_

At that point the film once again ended. The three sisters sat on the couch laughing as Double Dee was filled with embarrassment.

"Come on Double Dee." said Marie as she put her arm around him, "You know it was funny."

Marie smiled at Double Dee. Double Dee couldn't help but start chuckling, and before he knew it he was sharing full out laughter with his girlfriend and her sisters.

_The video came to life once again, this time displaying all three sisters sitting in a fish tank. Eddy jumped in front of the camera, yelling for the girls to get out of his fish tank before Double Dee asked Eddy to step out of the shot from behind the camera. The video then blacked out._

After the video had finished, the three girls sat laughing, enjoying their memories of the previous summer torturing the Ed's, as Double Dee sat and listened, chuckling at the sisters little arguments. After a few minutes, Lee interrupted.

"Ooh let's put this one on," yelled Lee, "It says 'Annemarie Eve's First Birthday"

"Why can't we watch something that embarrasses you, lug head?" yelled Marie as she got into her sisters face, trying to steal the video

"Marie, it's our sworn duty as your sisters to embarrass you in front of your boyfriend," said Lee.

"Wait till you see this Double Dee!" yelled May.

"He's not gonna see it." said Marie, "We're going upstairs, come on Double Dee!"

"OOOOOOOHHHHH" said both sisters as Marie began pulling Double Dee up the stairs.

"Hey after you're done, you better change those bed sheets." yelled Lee laughing.

"Can it Lee!" yelled Marie down the stairs.

"Have fun you two!" yelled May. Marie couldn't help but crack a smile at that last comment as she and Double Dee disappeared up the stairs.

Marie opened the door to the bedroom and flipped the light switch, illuminating the room. Marie closed the door behind her and walked over to the bed. She collapsed onto the bed, leaning backwards onto one of the pillows that were sitting near the top. Double Dee remained standing by the door for a few seconds before joining his girlfriend on the bed.

"I am so sorry for all of that Double Dee." said Marie, quite embarrassed, "I didn't expect them to show you those movies."

"Don't be sorry Marie," said Double Dee, "I quite enjoyed finally being able to see you as a little girl, and I especially enjoyed re-experiencing our 'vacation' we had together last summer." Double Dee snickered.

Marie paused before continuing

"It really was funny seeing you dance like that," said Marie as she chuckled, Double Dee joined her in her merriment.

"Since we're in the mood for some reminiscing," said Marie as she smiled and got up off of the bed, "How about we look at some pictures I found last night."

Marie reached into the drawer of the night stand and pulled out around 4 small photographs that appeared to have come from an instant film camera.

"We confiscated these from you last summer!" said Marie giggling as she showed Double Dee the pictures. The first few pictures were of Double Dee and his friends clowning around and consisted of Eddy's shoes, Double Dee and Ed's midsections, and a picture of all three friends standing together.

"Oh yes,I do remember these." said Double Dee, "These were part of Eddy's calendar scam."

"Calendar scam?" asked Marie chuckling.

"Eddy planned to use an instant camera we found in his attic to take photographs of all of the children of the cul-de-sac. His objective was to utilize the photographs to make a calendar that he could sell back to the kids for a profit." said Double Dee.

"So I guess we were responsible for causing that scam to fail too?" said Marie playfully as she repositioned herself to sit on his lap.

"It was doomed to fail from the start." Said Double Dee, "But your interference in our endeavour did play a large role in the collapse of Eddy's plan."

"Excuse me Oven Mitt!" said Marie as she playfully slapped Double Dee, "You guys came to our trailer looking for trouble. We didn't come to you, so if you ask me our 'interference' was totally justified."

Double Dee was speechless as he stared into Marie's smiling face.

"You do have an excellent point Marie." said Double Dee.

Marie smiled back into her Double Dee's eyes. Marie leaned into him and kissed him on the lips while embracing him in her arms. Double Dee returned the embrace, as Marie held him tighter.

Just as they were beginning their passionate kiss, Marie heard the familiar sound of floor boards creaking. She quickly pulled away from Double Dee and stared at the door.

"They're listening outside the door." whispered Marie to Double Dee.

Double Dee looked into Marie's eyes confused as to what to do. After a few seconds, Marie's face lit up and a familiar grin adorned her face. Double Dee knew that Marie had an adventurous idea judging by her facial expressions. He could only hope that her plan lied within his comfort zone.

"They won't know what to do." said Marie as she stepped onto the floor and off of Double Dees lap.

"What are you doing Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"Playing into their little game." said Marie as she sat on the bed next to Double Dee.

Marie began shaking the bed, in a rhythm causing it to hit up against the wall in an audible thud each time it hit the wall. Double Dee was embarrassed as Marie began making suggestive noises while she did so.

"Keep shaking the bed." whispered Marie as she walked over to the door.

Double Dee was quite embarrassed, as he had never been in this situation before. Although Marie's sense of humor had caused him to step out of his comfort zone, he couldn't help but continue the charade to satisfy his love.

Marie walked over to the door and flung it open quickly. Lee and May, who had their ears pressed to the door, fell inward, not expecting the door to be suddenly taken out from under them. They both fell on the floor with a thud.

"And what are you two doing?" asked Marie as she looked down at her sisters.

Lee and May looked up to see both Marie and Double Dee as they were downstairs, with no evidence of any kind of passionate encounter.

"Hey, we're just checking to make sure ya use the proper precautions before your begin your adventure." said Lee, she winked "If ya know what I mean?"

"It sounded like they were already having their adventure." said May giggling.

"I heard the floorboards creek stupid!" yelled Marie, "We were just screwin' around with ya.. Now get back downstairs."

"Geez that's the thanks we get for tryin to help a sister out," said Lee jokingly as she descended the stairs grinning back up at Marie.

"Whatever Lee!" said Marie as she closed the door to the bedroom once again. She walked back over to her boyfriend.

."Just the joys of having sisters Double Dee." said Marie as she chuckled at Double Dee.

Marie began going through her box of pictures she had in the closet. She stopped when she came to one particular picture. In the photograph was an older man with a white beard. He appeared to be on a large fishing boat, as the sea was behind him over the blue rails that lined the boat. To his right, hanging from a rack was a giant swordfish. On the other side of the swordfish, the man that Double Dee recognized as Rod stood with his right thumb up toward the camera. Cradled in his other arm was a toddler May, only about 3 years old. She was wearing an orange life vest that looked as if it were too large for her due to her small size. Small versions of Marie and Lee, both wearing oversized life vests of their own and smiling, stood in front of the bearded man, who had his arms on both of their shoulders.

"This is my Poppy." said Marie as she pointed to the older man. "This was the day he took my Dad and us fishing out on the ocean. I can barely remember anything about the day, but I do remember him and my Dad fighting to reel that fish in together."

Double Dee observed the fish in the photograph and remembered seeing the exact same fish hanging on the wall above the stairs.

"So that is how that unusually large specimen of swordfish found its way into your living room." said Double Dee.

"Yep," said Marie, "My Poppy loved fishing. He used to take my mom on the boat with him all of the time when she was little."

Marie glanced at the picture once again.

"This was taken before my mom and dad broke up." said Marie. "Believe it or not, my mom and Rod were actually going to get married. Of course, that ended after the incident I already told you about. Needless to say my Poppy never took him fishing with him again as I would assume he lost respect for him due to what he did to my mom. He still took us fishing, and I can remember going out on the boat with him every summer up until I was eight years old. We were lucky to have enough money to even be able to go fishing as much as we did. If my grandpa could have afforded it, he would have went out on the boat every week."

Marie chuckled and then paused as she looked into Double Dee's eyes.

"The summer of my eighth birthday was the last time we ever went fishing with him. During the winter of that year, he had a heart attack while working on his loading dock, lifting the boxes off of the trucks at the Kelloggs Plant. He passed away shortly after."

"Your grandfather sounded like a great man Marie." said Double Dee.

"He was a very nice man." said Marie, "He was always making us dollhouses and other toys out of spare wood he found. He was very much like you, always doing the right thing, courteous, kind and gentlemanly. And to top it off he was really smart too. He always had the answer to anything we were curious about."

Marie paused once again.

"He had to be a strong man in order to handle a lot of the situations he was presented with in his life. He lost his land, his assets and most importantly, lost his pride and joy daughter to the city and was forced to deal with her becoming pregnant with her first child not long after her 21st birthday."

Marie paused as Double Dee put his arm around her, pulling her closer to him.

"Nevertheless, he did the best he could to try to give us the love and attention we needed as young girls."

Marie placed the picture back into the box before she continued.

"All of those knick knacks we have hanging on the walls downstairs were his." said Marie, "One of his favorite hobbies was building ships in bottles. I can remember him sitting for hours while he watched us, working on his creations."

"That's quite an arduous task." said Double Dee.

"Tell me about it." said Marie, "His favorite model was sail boat in a bottle that is hanging above the entrance the kitchen. That boat is actually a scale model of the boat that he would take us out in to go fishing. I guess that's why it meant so much to him."

Marie looked at Double Dee in the face while she grinned.

"To think we almost lost it when your friend Ed stole it right out from under our noses." said Marie, smiling.

Double Dee thought about Maries statement for a few seconds before remembering the day that the Kanker sisters had gone on a rampage through the cul-de-sac, beating everyone up in their path in search of a certain ship in a bottle that Ed had had stuck on his finger. It all became very clear as to why the heirloom meant so much to the sisters

"Marie, I never knew, I had no idea that that heirloom was so important to your family. And to think that Ed's antics could have possibly led to its ultimate untim…."

Marie silenced Double Dee with her finger.

"Cutie, it's okay, we got it back. That's all that's counts." said Marie as she giggled, "Besides, it wasn't your fault, it was Ed's."

Marie and Double Dee chuckled.

"Why the hell did Ed decide to break into our trailer that night anyway?" asked Marie.

"You probably won't believe me Marie, but he most likely had no idea that he even had infiltrated your private quarters." said Double Dee, "Every so often, Ed has sleepwalking episodes. His dreams about the consumption of food cause him to seek out anything edible within a five block radius of his house. He probably was there merely to obtain the food from your refrigerator, and inadvertently grabbed your grandfather's model by mistake."

"I'll say, he ransacked the entire fridge, and even downed all of the condiments." said Marie chuckling.

"Thankfully, Eddy and I have learned his sleep walking patterns and do our best to prevent incidents such the theft of your heirloom, from happening again" said Double Dee.

The couple shared another laugh before there was a pause once again.

"Marie," said Double Dee, "When you spoke earlier about your birthday, I couldn't help but realize that we have been together for awhile now and we still never learned the dates of each other's birthdays. So may I ask when yours is?"

"July 15," said Marie, "Nothing like a summer birthday!"

"Yes" said Double Dee, "The warm weather certainly does lift ones spirits."

"Your birthday is November 12." said Marie chuckling.

Double Dee was astounded that Marie had correctly told him the day of his birthday. He began to feel awkward that he had not known Marie's yet she had somehow figured his out.

"Yes Marie, that is correct," said Double Dee, "How did you know?"

"Well, when you took me to James' grave, I couldn't help but notice that his birthday on the stone was November 12." said Marie, "And since you two were twins, I would say that it is highly likely that you two share the same birthday."

Double Dee smiled at Marie as she gave him a sly grin.

"Very clever Marie." said Double Dee.

"I'm just too smart for my own good!" said Marie playfully.

The couple shared a laugh and then paused before Marie broke the silence.

"Alright cutie." said Marie, as she re sat on Double Dee's lap grinning amorously, "Let's make out."

Double Dee was stunned as Marie touched her lips to his and once again shared a passionate kiss on the bed for around twenty minutes. After the couple was done sharing their kiss, they shared some more laughs and reminisced on more of the crazy times that they had had together since Marie moved to Peach Creek. Before they knew it, it was 11:00 p.m., and it was once again time to say goodbye.

"It's getting pretty late." said Double Dee, "Although I don't want to leave, I must be getting home now."

"Yeah it is getting late, and the girls are gonna want to go to bed soon anyway." said Marie, "My mom's coming home at around 1:00 tonight and we're all getting up tomorrow to do some chores around the trailer. I'm sorry I probably won't be able to see you tomorrow sweetie."

"Don't be sorry about something like that Marie," said Double Dee, as he smiled.

"Although it's not set in stone." said Marie grinning, "Who knows I could drop by when you least expect it."

Double Dee could do nothing but grin as he stood up off of the bed. He and his girlfriend embraced after which they began walking towards the bedroom door.

"Oh wait, I almost forgot" said Marie as she ran over to the dresser on the far side of the bedroom. She pulled a rather large brown envelope out of the drawer and handed it to Double Dee.

"Okay here's the deal Oven Mitt." said Marie as she wrapped her arms around Double Dee, "You can't open this until you get into your room okay, it's just another little surprise for you."

Double Dee stared at the envelope for a few seconds, wondering what could possibly be contained within it.

"Okay Marie, you have my word." said Double Dee.

"Great!" said Marie as she leaned in, and kissed her boyfriend on the lips.

"I love you Marie," said Double Dee.

"I love you too Double Dee." said Marie.

The couple exited the bedroom and began descending the stairs. They found Lee and May on the couch, Lee was sitting on the middle cushion, sleeping with her head lying backward; her mouth was wide open. May was sleeping as well, only she was leaning on the arm rest of the sofa, with her hand in a bag of Doritos.

"I guess the excitement of listening to us upstairs tired them out." said Marie as she opened the front door of the trailer for Double Dee. Double Dee chuckled.

The cold winter air hit Double Dees face as he stepped outside onto the metal step leading up to the door.

"I believe this is the first time I am actually exiting the way I came in." said Double Dee chuckling.

"Yes it is," said Marie, "At least now I can take all of the time I want to when I do this."

Marie grabbed Double Dee and pulled him in, giving him his goodnight kiss. Double Dee kissed her back, and placed his arms around her waist, hugging her.

After the couple had once again exchanged their "I love yous" and "Goodnights", Double Dee began his trek away from the trailer park a happy young man. He had the girl of his dreams, and their relationship seemed impeccable. On top of all of that, everyone seemed to be accepting the relationship with open arms.

As Double Dee walked home through the brisk air, his thoughts were filled with his beautiful girlfriends smiling face.


	32. Chapter 32

**Chapter 32**

As Double Dee walked home through the cold windy air, he couldn't help but once again think how far his relationship with the Kanker sisters had come since he had first met them. From the moment that he saw politeness in Marie, he knew that she was a beautiful person deep down inside; but he had no idea that her sisters were generally nice people as well. After hearing Marie's stories about their childhood and witnessing the behavior of the sisters tonight, he concluded that the Kanker sisters were extremely misunderstood young women. They were normal teenagers and kind hearted people, twisted by a complicated upbringing, hostile living conditions, and ridicule by their peers. Double Dee rarely judged anyone, and he was disappointed that he was guilty of judging the sisters by their outward actions when he first met them He was grateful that Marie had opened up and informed him about her and her sister's lives. Most importantly, he was glad that he had given Marie a chance, and allowed her to show him her true self. He was proud to call Marie his girlfriend.

Double Dee approached his house and walked up the gravel path toward his front door. With a turn of a golden key, the front door was unlocked and he was once again greeted with the warmth of his house. He climbed the red carpeted stairs and walked down the upstairs hallway to his room.

When Double Dee reached his room, he sat the envelope Marie had given him down on his bed, and removed his coat. After his coat was off, he picked the envelope up and stared at it for a few moments before untying the string that sealed the envelope.

When the string was fully unwrapped, he opened the tab, and peered inside. The first thing he noticed was a piece of white stationary. He pulled out the paper, and discovered the same handwriting that he recognized from the note that was handed to him the day before Valentines Day. He quickly began reading Marie's letter.

_Edd,_

_I was going through some old things this afternoon, and I found a few pictures you may like. These are for the times when I'm not with you and you really want to see me. I really hope you like them cutie!_

_I love you so much,_

_XO Marie_

_p.s. The last one is for when you miss me in a different sort of way, I hope you enjoy it!_

_(Marie inserted a winking smiley face at the end of the letter)_

Double Dee dug into the envelope and pulled out a series of photographs, tied together with a rubber band. Marie was the subject of all of the photographs. Many were of Marie smiling. Included within the pile were some pictures of Marie without her hair covering her right eye, revealing her full face.

As Double Dee flipped through photos, he couldn't help but smile as he looked into Marie's beautiful emerald green eyes. Although Marie had given him the photos to help him deal with missing her, the photographs only exacerbated his longing for Marie by his side.

Double Dee eventually reached the last photograph in the pile, the photograph that Marie had pointed out in the foot note of her letter. Double Dee was stunned as he observed the picture. There was a long golden stretch of sand on the ground, behind it the blue ocean, the waves foaming as they crashed to the shore.

The background however was not what captivated Double Dee. In the middle of the picture, Marie stood, in a bikini, with her hand on her left hip. Her hip was slightly relaxed to one side, while her other hand hung toward the ground. She wore sunglasses over her eyes, while she smiled. Her hair was still blue and appeared to be wet, and her freckles were extremely noticeable in the sunlight. Her bikini top was black and the straps seemed to tie together behind her neck. Her bottoms were black as well, but they were accentuated with graphics of various multicolored flowers.

Double Dee sat staring at the picture. No matter how hard he tried he could not take his eyes off of Marie's body. He fought his eyes and placed the photograph back in the pile with the other picture as he smiled and stood up from his bed.

"Marie, you are always chock full of surprises" whispered Double Dee to himself as he set the photographs onto his nightstand and changed into his pajamas.

After he had finished changing, he laid down on his bed to relax, after which he picked up the photographs of his girlfriend once again and went through them smiling from ear to ear.

Double Dee came to the last photograph of Marie on the beach, and was again captivated by the picture. Double Dees hormones began to take over his body as he stared at the photograph. Although he felt awkward, the photograph had excited Double Dee so much, that he decided to take part in an activity that he had never tried before. He proceeded to slide his pajama pants off of his body, as well as his boxer shorts.

It had been five minutes since Double Dee had began, and he began to feel the early stages of the same euphoria that he had experienced while with Marie on a few occasions. As he stared at the picture of Marie, the euphoria was about to peak, when a familiar voice rang through the air.

"Hey Sock He…." yelled the voice of Eddy, who had entered through the bedroom window, Ed was directly behind him, entering the window. Eddy was cut off from his sentence upon setting eyes on Double Dee.

"Oh shit!" he yelled while shielding his eyes.

Double Dee jumped up off of his bed and hit the night stand, accidentally knocking all of the photographs of Marie onto the floor. He quickly pulled up his pajamas, tripping over them as he did so, which caused Double Dee to fall to the bedroom floor with an audible thud.

"Eddy what in lords name are you doing here!" yelled an embarrassed Double Dee, "Is it too much to ask that others have enough social decency not to violate someone's personal space on daily basis!"

Double Dee stood staring at Eddy and Ed. Double Dees face was red with embarrassment and everyone was completely speechless. Eddy finally broke the silence.

"Double Dee why don't you go to the bathroom and clean yourself up." said Eddy, quietly.

"Good idea Eddy." said Double Dee as he began walking toward the bedroom door. As he left the room he turned around to face Eddy.

"And when you come back, we're gonna act as if this never happened." said Eddy

"Right." said Double Dee as he darted out of the room.

Eddy and Ed stood in silence for a few more seconds before Eddy began walking around the room.

"Okay Lumpy." said Eddy, "You listen by the door for Double Dee while I search the room."

"Why are we here again Eddy?" asked Ed as he picked up Double Dee's skull from his desk, placing it on his head.

"We came to bring him to your house for our game night, remember," said Eddy, "But if you keep quiet and follow my lead while I snoop around this place for a little bit, I'll give ya a tub of gravy on Monday."

Ed could not resist the call of his gravy.

"Aye Aye Eddy!" yelled Ed as he ran over to the door and peered around the doorway. Double Dee was still in the bathroom.

Eddy walked around Double Dee's bed and soon came upon the pile of photographs.

"What have we here?" said Eddy as he grinned. He picked up all of the pictures and began going through them. The second picture he found was the picture of Marie at the beach.

"Whoah, P.G. 13!" said Eddy as he looked at the picture. He paused for a second before realizing it was Marie Kanker in the photo. "So this is what got Double Dee so excited."

"Ed look at this." said Eddy laughing. Ed glanced at the picture of Marie, and couldn't help becoming captivated by the photograph himself.

"Hold your horses there Lumpy, that's a Kanker in that picture." said Eddy grinning. Ed had absolutely no reaction to Eddy's statement. Eddy pulled the picture away from Eds face.

"My eyes burn Eddy!" yelled Ed as Eddy laughed.

Eddy continued searching through the pictures until he came across another particular photograph of Marie. In this one, Marie's hair was not covering her right eye.

"Whoah!" yelled Eddy shocked by the photograph. "Hey Lumpy get a load of this!"

Eddy showed Ed the picture of Marie with her right eye exposed.

"Marie looks like one of the hideous mutated space girls from that movie I saw last night "I Married a Martian!" yelled Ed as he began to act out the part of the Martians, still wearing the skull on his head.

"So this is why she always hides that eye?" said Eddy, "It's a good thing she does, or I'd probably be running away from her twice as fast!"

Eddy began laughing hysterically.

"We hit the mother lode Ed," said Eddy, "I see big plans for these pictures, where's the sock head?"

Ed removed the skull from his head and peered down the hallway, noticing that the bathroom light was still on.

"Double Dee is still in the bathroom." said Ed. He placed the skull back on his head and began walking around the room making monster sounds, oblivious to Eddy's plans.

Eddy glanced around the room until the sight of Double Dees table top copy machine came into view. Instantly, Eddy's an idea filled Eddy's mind.

"Bingo." said Eddy under his breath.

Eddy ran over to the copy machine, and quickly made copies of both of the photographs. He then returned the originals to their pile and placed all of the pictures neatly onto the night stand. The copies were shoved into his pockets, out of sight and out of mind.

"If things go as I plan, we'll have the sock head out of Marie's clutches in no time." said Eddy as he grinned.

At that point Double Dee had finished cleaning off his pajamas, as well as cleaning himself up in the bathroom. Although he felt extremely awkward rejoining his friends in his room, he forced himself to push the door open. He found Eddy sitting on his bed, while Ed was running around the room with his skull.

"Ed, please return that replica to its proper designated area, it is very fragile." said Double Dee in a calm voice as he walked over to join Eddy on the bed. "And what brings you gentleman over to my house at such an unreasonable hour?"

"Ready your sleeping bag Sock Head." said Eddy, "Cause all of us guys are going over to Ed's for an all nighter."

"But Eddy, I haven't packed any of my toiletries." said Double Dee

"Who needs "toiletries" or whatever, we got us some pizza to eat, some sodas to drink, and some games to play, so let's andale!" yelled Eddy as he began walking out of Double Dees room.

"Come on Double Dee!" yelled Ed as he grabbed Double Dees hand and began pulling him down the stairs.

Although Double Dee had wanted to lay in his bed and drift off to sleep, he eventually decided to go to Ed's house with his friends, as spending time with them was just as important as spending time with Marie. He voluntarily walked across the cul-de-sac, and followed Eddy and Ed into Ed's basement window. Kevin and Rolf were already in the midst of a video game as the three Ed's entered.

As the time passed, Double Dee felt at home once again, laughing and making jokes with his pals. Although he enjoyed what he was doing, he couldn't help but think about Marie's beautiful face. She was most likely sleeping by now, but Double Dee would give anything in the world to be sleeping right beside her.


	33. Chapter 33

**Chapter 33**

It was 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, and all of the boys were sleeping in Ed's basement room after spending most of the night playing video games, and eating pizza. Double Dee was sleeping peaceful within his well kept sleeping bag, while Kevin and Rolf laid on the floor as if they had passed out. Eddy had fallen asleep in Ed's armchair, leaning on the armrest. Ed himself was sleeping on his beat up mattress, which was covered with comic books and stains of various food condiments. The television remained on all night, displaying an old monster flick, as none of the boys had even thought of turning it off before falling asleep.

Their peaceful sleep was soon interrupted by Ed's bedroom door slamming open. Everyone was awoken from their dreams, and the boys were extremely groggy due to not receiving enough sleep.

"ED!" yelled Sarah who was standing in the doorway with Jimmy, "Wake up!"

All of the boys groaned at the sound of Sarah's voice.

"Since dads away on business, Mom wants you and your idiot friends to put dirt down and pull weeds so that she can get ready to grow her flowers!" yelled Sarah

All of the boys roused up, still confused at what was going on.

"And if you're not out there in five minutes, I'm telling on you!" yelled Sarah as she slammed the door to Ed's room shut.

Ed coaxed all of his friends out of their sleeping positions and after a quick change of clothes, the tired boys were all assisting Ed in the yard. Well almost everyone; Eddy and Kevin decided to relax on the chairs that were set up around Ed's deck table while the other three boys worked.

"Hey Sock Head missed a spot!" yelled Eddy grinning jokingly with Kevin.

"Haha Eddy," replied Double Dee sarcastically, "I suppose it would be too much to ask for the great Eddy McGee to assist in a task of manual labor."

Eddy and Kevin laughed.

"Oh sure, keep laughing Eddy," said Double Dee, "Can you even comprehend the work it will take to remove these grass stains? Not to mention the unhygienic propertie…."

Double Dee was cut off

"No time for this tom foolery from lazy good for nothings, slim in the body, but smart in the head Ed-Boy." yelled Rolf as he grabbed Double Dees hand pulling him to the far side of Ed's yard, the spot where Ed's mother's garden would eventually occupy in the spring.

"While Rolf and the oafish Ed boy tend to the weeds, you shall spread the soil of fertility." Said Rolf as he placed a wheelbarrow of soil in front of Double Dee and handed him a shovel. Double Dee sighed as he began shoveling soil out of the wheelbarrow and spreading it along the area where the garden would be.

As he shoveled the soil into the garden pit, Double Dee heard the familiar voices of Marie and her sisters in the distance from over Ed's fence. He glanced around the yard; Eddy and Kevin were in a fit of laughter, most likely at some form of dirty joke Eddy had told. Ed and Rolf were pulling weeds vigorously with their back turned to him, Rolf was cursing in Norwegian, specifically the Nynorsk dialect, as he did so, while Ed was pretending to rip the heads off of zombies.

Double Dee decided to sneak out the yard for a few minutes to attempt to find the source of the voices. He exited quietly out of Ed's yard through the gate and into the lane. As he walked toward the opposite fence, separating the trailer park from the lane, he began to hear the voices of the Kankers grow louder. They were arguing over who would do which part of the laundry. Double Dee couldn't help but smile at hearing Marie's voice, as well as chuckle at the girls arguing over such a pointless manner

After a few seconds, of listening, a voice that Double Dee had never heard before filled the air, ordering the sisters to stop fighting. The voice had the exact same intonation as Marie's voice; however the pitch of the voice sounded strikingly similar to Mays, minus the adenoidal inflections.

Double Dee's curiosity caused him to climb to the top of the fence to identify the source of the unfamiliar voice. As he glanced over the fence, the girls came into view. May was just leaving the trailer door carrying a large pile of clothes towards a small tub filled with water. Marie was washing clothes in the tub with a washboard and appeared to be exerting herself. Lee was washing the windows of the trailer with a sponge as well as spraying the rest of the caravan down with a garden hose that appeared to be drawing its water from underneath the trailer.

Double Dee glanced over toward the clothes line and saw someone he had never seen before. There was a woman hanging garments onto the line. Each time she turned to grab an item of clothing, Double Dee caught a glimpse of her face.

The woman appeared to be around her mid thirties. She was semi-overweight, but her weight was mostly concentrated in her hips and buttocks. She was wearing sweat pants, and a black tank top, even though it was a cold February morning. A cigarette protruded from her mouth, the end of it glowing every time she took a puff.

The most striking feature of the woman was that her face was adorned with freckles just as the Kanker sisters faces were. The shapes of her eyes resembled Marie, while her facial structure as a whole was strikingly similar to May's, minus the prominent overbite. Her hair was the same texture and color as Lee's, but the woman's red curls hung down past her shoulders and were long enough to flow in the wind.

From Double Dee's observation point, he could make out that the woman had a large tattoo on her upper right arm. The tattoo consisted of the two masks next to one another, one with a happy, expression and one with a saddened expression; a common symbol of the performing arts. Underneath that particular tattoo were the words "Laugh now, cry later". As the woman turned around, Double Dee noticed that there was a tattoo in the same spot on her other arm as well. This particular tattoo consisted of a pair of ballet shoes strung together. Underneath this tattoo was another quote that Double Dee could barely make out at first glance: "I dance for the perfect moments that lie in the most imperfect steps."

There were other tattoos that consisted of words that were too small for Double Dee to make out on her lower arms. The woman certainly did cut an imposing figure, and Double Dee was slightly intimidated by her.

"Hey Mom, where do ya want these?" asked May carrying the clothes over towards where Marie was sitting.

Double Dee was speechless; he had laid eyes for the first time of the Kanker sister's mother, and he was probably the only person in the neighborhood, besides the denizens of the trailer park, to ever see her. He certainly did not expect the Kankers mother to look as intimidating as she did. He began to wonder if her personality matched her appearance. If it so happened that she acted as tough as she looks, Double Dee would be afraid to even step foot near her.

As Double Dee was left with his thoughts, the cross beam he was using to brace himself up on the fence snapped and caused him to begin plummeting toward the ground. Luckily, he was able to grab the top of the fence and hold himself up.

His lucky break was not without consequence however, as the snapping sound was heard by the entire Kanker family, who gazed toward the fence to find the source of the sound. They turned their heads and met eye to eye with a frightened Double Dee.

"Look Marie, it's Double Dee!" yelled May in her obnoxious voice. Marie looked into Double Dees eyes. As soon as their eyes met, both boy and girl smiled from ear to ear at the sight of each other's face.

"Hey Double Dee." said Marie in an excited voice.

"Hello Marie," said Double Dee struggling to hold himself up on the fence. Marie giggled.

"Well don't just stand there Marie, bring him over here!" yelled Lee.

Marie paused for a second after Lees' statement. This moment would mark the first time that her mother had ever met one of her friends, let alone her first real boyfriend. She was quite nervous, as was Double Dee who was still clinging to the fence blushing. Marie knew what she had to do.

"Come on over Double Dee!" yelled Marie smiling.

Double Dee hesitated before hopping over the brown fence and into the trailer park. Marie met him halfway and grabbed his hand, holding it as they walked back toward the trailer. Lee and May watched with grins on their faces as Marie walked Double Dee over towards her mother.

At this point, Tabby Kanker had turned around to face the couple. The cigarette that was in her mouth was now being held between the index and middle finger of her right hand as she sat down in a decrepit lawn chair.

"Mom." said Marie as she and a very nervous Double Dee walked up to the chair she was sitting in. "This is my boyfriend, Edd."

Double Dee was shocked that she was comfortable enough to say the word boyfriend. He blushed as he looked into the Kanker's mothers eyes. To his surprise, they appeared cheerful. Her face was adorned with a smile as well.

"Good day Ms. Kanker," said Double Dee rather nervously as he held out his hand to shake her hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Double Dee was not met with a handshake, but a hug from the Kankers mother. As they conversed, Double Dee had learned that the Kankers mother's personality embodied all of the prominent traits that she had passed on to her children, such as Lee's bizarre sense of humor, Marie's spontaneous personality, and May's absentmindedness. In addition, he could finally make out the smaller tattoos that were located on her lower arm. On the outside of her lower right arm about three inches lower than her elbow joint, was the word "Annalee". There was another tattoo on the same arm but located above her wrist. This tattoo was of the word "Annemarie". Lastly, her lower left arm contained a solitary tattoo of the word "Annamae".

Double Dee was able to nervously converse with the Kankers mother and her sisters for a few minutes, at which point the voice of Rolf rang through the air.

"The soil has been shamed!" yelled Rolf's voice, "Curse that lazy good for nothing Double Dee Ed boy!"

"What is that about?" asked Marie as she laughed, as her mother began hanging clothes once again

"I'm so sorry, but I really must be getting back to Ed's yard. We have yard work to finish for Ed's mother." said Double Dee.

"Okay sweetie." whispered Marie. She glanced over at her mother and saw that she was turned around fiddling with the clothes line. Marie took advantage of this opportunity to lean in and kiss Double Dee on the lips.

"I love you, have fun with your yard work." said Marie as she smiled.

"I love you too," said Double Dee, "You have some work cut out for you as well."

Double Dee bid quickly farewell to Marie, Lee, May, and Tabitha. He ran back towards the fence and hopped over it, after which he quickly raced for the gate to Ed's yard.

Upon re entering the yard, Double Dee noticed Rolf angrily moving the soil that he was supposed to spread. Kevin and Eddy were still lollygagging on the deck, while Ed stood absentmindedly as Rolf worked with the soil. Rolf glanced up and noticed Double Dee.

"ED BOY!" yelled Rolf, "Do you not have ears? Did Rolf not ask you to do the simple chore of laying soil."

"I'm sorry truly Rolf," said Double Dee, "Johnny had showed up outside of the gate with a question regarding arboreal studies. I couldn't bear to deny him of an adequate rebuttal."

Double Dee had obviously lied to cover his own personal negligence to Rolf's task. Rolf stood confused for a few seconds before breaking the silence.

"Johnny the wood boy?" asked Rolf quietly.

"Why yes, Johnny 2x4." said Double Dee.

"The son of a shepherd has been made a fool of for the last time!" yelled Rolf as he ran out of Ed's yard, on his way to find Johnny, for whatever reason that may be. Double Dee felt terrible that he had just unwittingly put Johnny into a confrontation with Rolf; however he knew that Johnny's annoying tendencies and cheerful demeanor would eventually win Rolf over in the long run.

Double Dee and Ed finished surfacing the soil together and eventually joined Kevin and Eddy on Ed's deck.

"All tasks have been accomplished." said Double Dee, "The weeds are cut and the soil is evenly distributed, perfect for Ms. Fullerton's future garden." said Double Dee.

"Phew that was hard work!" said Eddy as he and Kevin stood up from their chairs. Double Dee couldn't help but become a little irritated at the irony of Eddy's last statement.

"Let's all wash up, and then we'll meet and go shoot some hoops." said Eddy smiling.

"Righteous." said Kevin.

"I know I am in desperate need of a shower." said Double Dee as he glanced down towards his hands, horrified by the filth they were covered in. To make matters worse, there was filth caught underneath his fingernails, a prospect that especially bothered him.

"Cool," said Eddy, "Let's meet up in a half hour."

All of the boys split up and headed towards their homes. Double Dee ran home especially fast; he quickly ran into his house, up the stairs and into his bathroom. He stripped all of his clothes off, throwing them in the laundry hamper and grabbed a towel from the linen closet. As soon as he closed the diverter valve of the shower, the warm water hit his flesh and his mind was at ease knowing that all of the filthy bacteria were in the process of being washed off of his body.

As he bathed, he thought about his encounter with Marie and her sisters. He could not actually believe that he had meet the Kankers mother. Not only that, but she was quite a friendly individual. Double Dee chuckled as he thought of the phrase that he had corrected Ed on the previous day "Don't judge a book by it's cover". The proverb couldn't have been any more true.

As he thought about their meeting, he could only hope that Tabby Kanker had liked him, even though she notoriously hated men, and had not trusted them. Either way, he was truly happy to see Marie and to be able to give her a kiss.

A few minutes went by and Double Dee had determined himself free of germs. He shut the water off, wrapped a towel around his waist and walked down the hallway to his room. Upon reaching his room, he dropped the towel, and slid a pair of white-striped boxer shorts onto his waist. He slipped on a pair of blue pants, and pulled his favorite red shirt over his head. Last but not least, he brushed what little hair he had left on his head, and promptly covered his scarred cranium with his ski hat. Double Dee then ran out of his bedroom door and down the stairs to rejoin his friends at the basketball court.


	34. Chapter 34

**Chapter 34**

_Double Dee was walking down the sidewalk, on his way to the basketball court to meet up with his friends. He was peacefully strolling down the cross street, alone with his thoughts when he was suddenly grabbed and pulled into the lane. As he was slammed up against the fence by his assailant, he looked into the suspects face. Her freckles and beautiful green eyes made his face light up._

_"Hey cutie." said Marie, "I hope you're excited to see me."_

_"I'm always excited to see you my angel." replied Double Dee._

_"You're so cute and sweet." said Marie smiling, Marie grabbed him by his collar and pulled his face into hers, "Why don't you kiss me you sexy stud?"_

_Double Dee quickly pressed his lips into hers, as Marie wrapped her arms around his neck. Double Dee placed his hands around Marie's hips and pulled her closer to him. They kissed in the manner for around five seconds, before they were interrupted._

"HEADS UP!" yelled the voice of Eddy.

Double Dees vivid daydream was broken as he was forced back to reality. It was around 4:00, and the boys have been playing basketball for around an hour.

Double Dee found himself doubled over in pain, as a basketball that was chest passed to him by Eddy hit his stomach with full force. The boys all began laughing.

"Geez Double Dee, ya gotta get your head in the game." said Eddy, as he walked over and grabbed the ball.

Double Dee caught his breath and regained his composure, joining Eddy and Ed where they were standing.

"It's our ball, the Double Dork touched it before it went out of bounds." said Kevin.

Eddy reluctantly passed the ball to Kevin, who began dribbling it.

"Come on, what'cha got big chin?" said Eddy, taunting his friend as he tried to steal the ball from him.

"I got this dork!" yelled Kevin as he passed the ball behind his back, and easily outmaneuvered Eddy. Kevin charged the net to attempt to make a layup.

"Double Dee get him!" yelled Eddy, as Kevin ran towards Double Dee.

"Curse my un athletic nature." said Double Dee under his breath as he attempted to get in front of Kevin to stop his assault. Kevin easily plowed through the untrained Double Dee, knocking him down by mistake. Eddy was quick to take notice.

"FOUL!" yelled Eddy, "He gets a free throw."

"Whatever" said Kevin.

Kevin passed the ball to Double Dee, who was able to at least catch it this time. He was completely confused as to what to do.

"Get behind the foul line." said Eddy as he pushed Double Dee into the correct position.

"But Eddy, the probability of me making the shot is almost nonexistent." said a nervous Double Dee.

"Relax Sock Head, it's just a simple free throw." said Eddy.

All of the boys watched as Double Dee dribbled the ball on the ground while sweating heavily.

"Come on Double Dee, we ain't got all day!" yelled Kevin.

"Hey, don't heckle my players!" yelled Eddy.

Double Dee placed his hands underneath the ball, positioning himself to take the shot. He knew that it was very unlikely that the ball would even make it to the net.

While Double Dee was preparing himself for his shot, none of the boys have taken notice that the sky had suddenly become overcast with black clouds. As Double Dee was about to release the ball, nature showed its wrath in the form of a torrential downpour.

"Oh man, I'm out of here." said Kevin as he began walking toward the exit of the court, the rest of the boys minus Eddy began following him.

"Come on sissies, it's just a little rain!" yelled Eddy, "What is everyone afraid of a little wah-wah?"

"Eddy, the idea of taking part in any activity in these conditions is absolutely preposterous!" yelled Double Dee, who's shirt was already soaked. "I'm going to play it safe and seek shelter! I will see you gentleman later!"

In the blink of an eye, Double Dee had ran out of the court, and was on his way down the cross street toward his home.

"I'm goin home too, see ya dork!" yelled Kevin as he began running out of the court as well, with Rolf directly behind him. Ed was having the time of his life, running around in circles while the cold rain drenched his clothes.

Eddy had decided that it was time to put his perfect plan into action.

"Hey guys wait up!" yelled Eddy. Kevin and Rolf turned to face him. "Let's all go back to my place. I got some crazy stuff to tell you guys." said Eddy grinning.

All of the boys ran after Eddy back to his house via the lane.

Meanwhile, a rain drenched Double Dee had just made it to the inlet of the cul-de-sac. He ran across the street and onto his sidewalk. As he was about to step onto the path to his house, he heard sounds as if leaves were rustling.

Double Dee didn't have any time to turn around before he felt a pair of soaked arms wrap themselves around him from the back. The arms quickly forced him to turn around, and he came face to face with Marie. Her clothes were soaked, and her black hair drooped over her face due to being wet.

"Surprise cutie!" said Marie.

"Marie!" said Double Dee, "I didn't expect you to be here!"

"You don't want me here?" asked Marie, frowning in a joking manner.

"No, of course I want you here," replied Double Dee, "Let's get out of this rain and take shelter…."

Marie cut Double Dee off by placing her finger over his lips. She walked closer to him, touching her body to his.

"Ya know Double Dee," said Marie in a slight whisper. She now had her arms wrapped around him, and her lips were centimeters away from his. "I think it would be the most romantic thing ever, if we kissed in the rain."

Double Dee had no intentions of staying out in the rain, but he absolutely couldn't deny Marie of this moment. Not only that, but he in the bottom of his heart, wanted to kiss his girlfriend.

"I guess I have no choice." said Double Dee jokingly.

"You never have a choice with me." Said Marie jokingly as she leaned in her lips and began kissing Double Dee.

Both Marie and Double Dee closed their eyes as they began making out under the heavy rainfall. Around two seconds after they had first touched their lips together, the sound of loud thunder filled the air, as a large lightning bolt streamed across the sky. Both teenagers jumped at the sound of the thunder. Double Dee and Marie pulled away from each other slightly and smiled.

"A tad cliché, don't you think?" said Double Dee jokingly, as the lightning strike seemed to almost correspond to the moment when the couple touched their lips together.

"Just shut up and kiss me!" said Marie jokingly as she pulled Double Dee in once again and resumed their kiss.

The couple kissed for around five minutes in the rain, at which point the downpour turned into a drizzle. Eventually the clouds broke, and the low afternoon sun once again shined over Rathink Avenue. Both Marie and Double Dee pulled away once again and looked up towards the blue sky that was remerging from behind the clouds. Marie smiled and pointed up.

"Now that was definitely clichéd." said Marie with a grin on her face. Double Dee and Marie shared a laugh as they held each others hands.

"Would the beautiful lady like to come in?" asked Double Dee motioning his hands toward his front door. "I was just about to prepare dinner, would you like to join me?"

"Double Dee," said Marie smiling, "Are you asking me out on a dinner date?"

"Why yes, you could put it that way if you wanted to." said Double Dee, smiling.

Marie grinned at Double Dee and began walking past him toward his front door. She turned around and smiled as she opened the door to his house and walked in.

"Coming love?" asked Marie in a rather cute voice.

Double Dee smiled as he walked up the wet gravel path to his house; the "smell of rain" filled the area around Double Dees lawn. He made his way into the front door following behind Marie.

Double Dee walked through his living room and into the kitchen, where he found his girlfriend sitting at his table. Her hands were folded, and she sat with her legs crossed, her right leg dangling over her left. Double Dee smiled at her as he walked over toward the refrigerator.

"I hope you don't mind, but I was planning on making tacos tonight." said Double Dee.

"I don't mind at all sweetie." said Marie, "After eating hotdogs almost every day since my Poppy died, I can't complain about anything else."

Marie and Double Dee chuckled as he began cooking the taco meet. Double Dee had one question that he had been waiting to know the answer to all day.

"So Marie, do you think your mother enjoyed our surprise encounter this morning?" asked Double Dee.

Marie smiled.

"Don't worry Double Dee," said Marie, "She liked you. She gave you a hug without even knowing you and insisted that you call her Tabby, instead of 'Ms. Kanker'"

"Thank goodness." replied Double Dee

"She's a very friendly person, even though she looks like she'll rip your head off if you piss her off." said Marie as she chuckled

Double Dee couldn't help but laugh, as he was really intimidated by Tabby when he first saw her.

"I was scared to death when you mentioned I was your boyfriend to her, after what you had told me about her attitude toward men." said Double Dee laughing.

Marie laughed.

"She always tells us not to trust men," said Marie, "But I think I'm going to be the first of her daughters to prove her wrong."

Marie snickered at her last statement as she smiled at Double Dee.

Double Dee had finished cooking the taco meat and un-wrapped the tortillas. After Double Dee had finished making the tacos, he joined Marie at the table to begin eating. As the couple dined on their tacos, Marie broke the silence.

"So what was with the foreign guy yelling about you 'shaming the soil'?" asked a smiling Marie.

"Oh, you mean Rolf." said Double Dee, "We were performing some yard work and Rolf had asked me to perform the task of laying the soil for Ed's mother's garden. As I was working, I heard the sounds of you and your sister's voices from over the fence. Curiosity got the best of me, so I snuck out of the yard, and traced the source of the sounds I was hearing."

Marie gasped.

"Double Dee?" said Marie, "You were spying on me, how could you?"

Double Dee chuckled, before Marie continued.

"Oh well, at least this time you caught me washing clothes, I wasn't doing it in my tub!" yelled Marie as she laughed.

Double Dee thought about Marie's last statement for a few seconds.

"Marie, I certainly do not recall the moment you have just mentioned." said a confused Double Dee.

"Come on sweetie," said Marie as she stepped out of her chair and sat down on Double Dee's lap looking into his eyes, "Remember last summer, when you and your friends all of the sudden decided to barge into my bathroom while I was washing clothes naked in the tub?"

Double Dee had finally been able to recall the moment Marie was speaking of.

"Now I remember!" yelled an enthusiastic Double Dee. Marie chuckled as she made a joke.

"I find it funny that all of the sudden you remember what I'm talking about once I mentioned that I was naked." said Marie as she smiled. Double Dee blushed slightly but smiled back.

"You know what the most hilarious thing about that day was cutie pie." said Marie.

"What was that?" replied Double Dee.

"You thought that wearing a fake mustache and dressing as a construction worker could fool me, Mr. Walter Sobchak," said Marie as she giggled, she pinched Double Dees cheeks. "I could recognize that cute face of yours anywhere."

Marie giggled as she stood up off of Double Dees lap to stretch.

"What were you guys doing there that day anyway?" asked Marie.

"We were lead there by Eddy, who was following a supposed treasure map that he had found inside one of his brothers trophies." said Double Dee

"Wait, his brother actually drew a map that led to our trailer, how'd he even know we lived there?" asked Marie. "None of us have ever met him until we followed you guys to the amusement park."

"Upon further inspection of the map later that night, it turned out that I had made a miscalculation. We were supposed to travel in the opposite direction, which would have caused us to wind up at the junkyard instead." said Double Dee

"So I take it you never found your treasure then." said Marie giggling.

"No we did not," said Double Dee, "It turned out just to be another one of Eddys brothers childish pranks."

Double Dee chuckled,

"Although by coincidentally arriving at your home, we had thought that he had some sort of kinship with you girls. He had thought that he was clever enough to set us up to be harassed by you as the ultimate prank"

Double Dee and Marie chuckled.

"And to take it even further, upon inspecting underneath your trailer, we managed to find that suitcase of wishbones, which we confused for Eddy's brother's treasure." said Double Dee as he laughed.

"Speaking of which, why was there a case of wishbones underneath your trailer?" asked Double Dee.

"Ha!" said Marie, "They were May's wishbones. For some reason I still don't understand, she started collecting then and brought a new one home whenever she would have chicken at Rods house. After a while, she stopped bringing them home, but held on to all of the ones she already had. A lot of them still had the meat on them, and they eventually started to stink really bad. So me and Lee decided to throw all of them in the briefcase and bury them under the trailer."

"That sounds like something I would expect from Ed!" said Double Dee

Marie and Double Dee shared a laugh.

"And here you and your friends come along with your stupid treasure map and dig it up." said Marie playfully. "Now we have to deal with it sitting under our bed, because she checks for it every freakin night!"

Double Dee laughed with Marie. By this time the couple had finished eating. Marie assisted Double Dee with the dishes, after which they decided to spend some time in Double Dees den watching television. The couple sat on the couch; Double Dee had his arm around Marie, who was leaning her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes, Marie turned her head up towards Double Dees face.

"So how did you like my pictures cutie?" asked a smiling Marie.

"I thought they were beautiful Marie," said Double Dee smiling, "Thank you so much for giving them to me."

Marie leaned up into Double Dees ear.

"How did you like that last one?" she asked in a rather seductive sounding voice.

Double Dees face filled with warmth as he felt himself begin to blush. Marie giggled.

"I think I have my answer." she said as she grinned.

"That was quite a stunning photograph," said Double Deem after which he couldn't believe that the words he had just said had come out of his mouth. Marie kissed him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you like it," she said, "May took that picture of me last year when Rod and his girlfriend Linda took us all down the shore over the summer"

"I can sure say that the ocean did look quite soothing in that photograph." said Double Dee.

"So let me get this straight," said Marie in a playful manner as she turned around to face her boyfriend. "You would rather look at the ocean than your girlfriend in a bikini?"

"Wel…I…see…." said Double Dee, fumbling around with his words while blushing.

"Listen loverboy." said Marie as she donned her "adventurous" grin once again. She turned around and straddled Double Dee on the couch. She leaned into his ear.

"Since that picture can't get you goin, why don't I let you have a little peak at the real thing."

Marie giggled as she moved her lips away from Double Dees ear. Double Dee couldn't help but become entranced by Marie's last statement, although he was a shy gentleman. It didn't take long for his excitement to show. Marie felt his excitement growing as she sat on him and she snickered.

"That did the trick." said Marie with her amorous grin as he looked down. Marie stepped off of Double Dees lap and walked out of the den, purposely swaying her hips as she did so as if trying to flaunt herself.

"Where are you going Marie?" asked an embarrassed Double Dee.

"Upstairs." Said Marie as she leaned her head around the doorway to the den, she smiled and giggled before disappearing back around the corner.

Double Dee, slightly embarrassed stood up off of the couch and stretched.

"Marie, you are always full of surprises." Double Dee thought to himself.

With a quick smile, he walked out of the den, and headed up to his room, preparing for yet another intimate physical encounter with a very spontaneous Marie.

As Double Dee and Marie were "enjoying" each others company, quite a different situation was playing out in Eddy's bedroom at 220 Rathink Avenue. The room was quite dim, as the only light source in the room came from Eddy's lava lamp. Kevin and Rolf sat on Eddy's bed, waiting for the surprise announcement, while Ed paraded himself around the room, admiring Eddy's various knick knacks.

"Alright boys!" said Eddy as he returned to his room holding cans of soda for all of his friends.

"Alright dork, what's this about?" asked Kevin as he popped open his soda, "I could be out hanging with Nazz right now!"

"Here's the deal." said Eddy.

Eddy was about to blatantly lie to all of his friends as well as betray Double Dee. Without thinking of the consequences of his actions, he delivered a bogus story to the boys.

"Double Dee told me last night the real reason why he has been hanging out with Marie." said Eddy.

"Yeah, it's cause they really like each other we all know that dweeb!" yelled Kevin.

"Oh contrair Kev my boy." said Eddy with a sly grin on his face, "Check these out!"

Eddy flashed the copy of Marie's beach picture at Kevin and Rolf.

"Hello." said Rolf, "Rolf feels as though his blood is as hot as Nanas chili."

"Whoah there Rolfie boy, do ya know who that is in that picture?" said Eddy.

"Rolf is certain that it is the Go-Go Nazz girl yes?" said Rolf. Kevin angrily turned to Rolf.

"Dude," yelled Kevin, infuriated that Rolf had made a comment about his Nazz. The two boys began arguing.

"QUIET!" yelled Eddy as he held the picture back up to the boys, "I know it's hard, but take your eyes off the tits, and look at the hair."

Both of the boys instantly recognized the blue hair in the photograph as belonging to Marie Kanker.

"Why do ya have a picture of Marie in a bikini Eddy?" asked Kevin.

"Double Dee gave me a copy of it," said Eddy smiling.

"Bullshit!" said Kevin, "You probably stole it from him so that you could use it when you get lonely at night!"

Kevin and Rolf both began laughing at Eddy.

"Alright Geez, let's get back to the point," Eddy turned around to his desk to grab the other picture. "He also gave me this."

Eddy held the picture of Maries' right eye out for everyone to see. Kevin and Rolf were both stunned by the picture.

"It's like beauty and the beast between the two pictures isn't it?" asked Eddy, while he smiled.

"Damn," said Kevin stunned at the sight of Maries crooked eye, "That's why she keeps bangs."

Kevin and Rolf stood speechless for a few more seconds before Kevin chimed in.

"Alright man, how'd ya get these pictures?" asked Kevin.

"The Sock Head has been playing both sides of the field." said Eddy, "Somehow, he got brave enough to confess his love to Marie and win her heart. He spent the last two weeks brownnosing them all with the objective of finding some dirt to embarrass the Kankers. Boys we hit gold, thanks to Double Dee, we can now humiliate those Kankers in front of the whole school just like they humiliated us every day since they moved here."

Kevin sat speechless for a few seconds.

"So let me get this straight, Double Dee came up with this whole relationship with Marie thing, to gain the Kankers trust, and then eventually use something he found to humiliate them?" asked Kevin.

"Yep, that was his plan." said Eddy.

At this point, Eddy was quite frightened, as he began to believe Kevin wouldn't buy his story.

"Dude, that is righteous!" yelled Kevin.

Eddy's mind was at ease.

"Tell me about it?" said Eddy.

"I tried to accept it, and I'll be honest, I truly thought that he actually liked her for a while there. But now that you told me about his plan, it all makes perfect sense." said Kevin as he laughed.

The boys continued laughing. All except Ed, who stood listening to the conversation, with a stern, yet dumbfounded face.

"So now what do we do?" asked Kevin.

"Boys, we gotta lay low for a few more days." said Eddy, "In the meantime, don't discuss any of this with Double Dee. He told me that he doesn't want to talk about it so that he can 'remain in character' or something stupid like that."

"Gotcha." said Kevin.

"Alright here's the plan, we strike on Wednesday." said Eddy.

As Eddy began discussing his vindictive plan with his friends, Double Dee and Marie were lying together in his bed once again, wearing only their undergarments. They had just finished an expressing their love in a physically passionate way, and were currently making jokes and having fun conversations. Little did Double Dee know that his supposed best friend, had not only just betrayed him, but also had manipulated his friends to believe a false story about his relationship with Marie.


	35. Chapter 35

**Chapter 35**

It was a crystal clear night, and the moon and stars were shining bright outside of Double Dees bedroom window. At the same time that Eddy was entangling the rest of the cul-de-sac boys in his web of lies, Double Dee was once again lying in his bed, with his beautiful girlfriend Marie in his arms. They had just spent the last 20 minutes expressing their love through passionate physical acts and were once again wearing only their undergarments, Double Dee wearing white boxers with blue stripes, while Marie wore a black bra with matching underwear. Marie laid her head on his shoulder for around 30 seconds, her heart still racing from her recent "experience", before she broke the silence.

"Wow" said Marie in a tired sounding voice as she looked up into Double Dee's eyes, "I should have let you take control the first few times, you really know how to handle a girl." Marie said jokingly while smiled.

Double Dee began sweating at Marie's "compliment" on his performance. Tonight marked the first time that Marie had let it be Double Dees who was lying on top of her tonight, initiating the motion. Naturally, he was extremely nervous, but Maries actions, whispers and vocalizations while they were in the act ensured him that he was doing a decent job.

"If it weren't for your easy excitement, I would have not thought that you never had a girlfriend before." said Marie as she kissed Double Dee on the cheek as he blushed.

"I guess it's just practice." said Double Dee not realizing what he was saying, he caught himself and immediately tried to correct himself. "I mean, I guess it was…"

At this point, his efforts to correct himself were futile, as Marie was having the time of her life laughing at his mistake. A wave of embarrassment overcame Double Dee, but ultimately he couldn't help joining in on the fun.

"Double Dee!" yelled Marie playfully, "What could you possibly practice on while I'm not around, your pillow!"

Double Dee was able to laugh with his girlfriend for a little while longer before their merriment finally died down. Marie rolled herself over so that she was on top of Double Dee, looking right into his face with her nose touching his. Double Dee couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of the warmth of her bare midsection against his. Marie spoke in whispering voice while she smiled.

"I guess I should have put that on my list of the reasons why I love you!" said Marie as she snickered.

Double Dee saw this as the opportunity to crack a joke of his own.

"Yes, it would have, but what would you have possibly used for the drawing to go along with the caption?" said Double Dee as he smiled.

Marie slapped him on his chest.

"Double Dee, you nasty boy!" yelled Marie as the couple began laughing again. Double Dee looked into Marie eyes.

"I love you Marie." said Double Dee.

"I love you too Double Dee." said Marie.

At this point, Marie leaned in and gently kissed Double Dee on the lips for around a minute. Marie pulled away and retook her place on Double Dees chest. Double Dee broke the silence.

"So Marie, how did your mother like the music box?" asked Double Dee.

"Double Dee, I have never seen my mother's eyes light up like they did as soon as she saw it!" said an excited Marie.

"Really?" said Double Dee, "That's great that she was excited."

"Yeah" said Marie as she began to tell her story, "A little while after Ralph, is that his name?"

"Rolf," replied Double Dee, "With an O."

"A little while after Rolf yelled about you missing from Ed's yard, we finally finished washing all of our clothes. We all headed into the trailer and had cheeseburgers while we spent some time with my mom in front of the TV. At one point I finally remembered that I had the box up in the bedroom, so I went upstairs to get it."

Marie paused.

"When I came down the stairs, my sisters and my mom were completely glued to the TV. I made sure that I had dusted the box off to make it look as good as new. I placed the box into her arms, and as soon as she looked down to see what I had given her, her face literally lit up. Her eyes actually began to tear up, something that I had never seen before. She opened the box and watched the silver figure spin as the music played. I looked at Lee and May and saw that they were happy for her too."

"I am so glad to hear that your mother loved seeing her music box again." said Double Dee.

"She looked at the engraving and then closed the box speechless and looked up into my eyes, holding back tears of joy. She asked me where I found the box. I told her that you found it in her old house."

"You told her that I am responsible for finding her box?" asked an alarmed Double Dee, as he was still slightly intimidated by Tabitha's "biker chick" appearance.

"Yeah silly." said Marie, "It's the truth wasn't it?"

"But that means that she knows that I have infiltrated her previous residence and possibly stumbled upon personal deep dark secrets that were meant to be kept in total sec….."

Marie placed her hand on Double Dees mouth.

"Cutie!" yelled Marie as she smiled, "You are over thinking it, calm down so I can finish my story, okay Oven Mitt."

"Please continue Angel, and I wholeheartedly apologize for my rudeness." said Double Dee smiling at Marie.

"Thank you, it's great to have my Double Dee back." said Marie jokingly.

"So where was I?" asked Marie, "Oh yeah, I told her that you had found it in her old playroom while we were hanging out in the house. Before she went any further, she asked what we were doing alone in her old house, and if we were doing anything "inappropriate"'

"WHAT!" asked an extremely nervous Double Dee. Marie laughed.

"Don't worry Double Dee, she was just joking, and besides, she knows what happens when you're a teenager and have a boyfriend. Just like Ms. Volin said, "she was young once too."' said Marie as she giggled. Double Dee giggled back with her.

"Okay, I'll be serious now." said Marie, "After I told her that you found it, she said that I have to bring you over to the trailer the next time that she's home so that she can give you the biggest hug in the world for finding it."

"Wow," said Double Dee, "Well tell her that I am so glad that I could bring joy to her day."

"Trust me Double Dee, you have," said Marie, "In all of my 14 years of living with her, I have never seen my mother as happy as she was today. It was like she revisited her childhood in Peach Creek, and she had a blast of nostalgia."

Marie paused.

"She told us about the day that she got the music box. It was Christmas Morning, 1982 and she was 6 years old. She can remember her first time opening the box and being amazed by what was inside, as I have told you before that she had wanted to be a dancer. She used to dance and play with my Aunt Kathryn in the foyer, my Poppy would move all of the furniture and move the chairs so that it looked like he was sitting in the audience while my mom and my aunt used their imagination and danced around the foyer."

Marie paused.

"Even though I probably would have never have been born, I would love to see what kind of person my mother would have been if she hadn't gotten lost in the city. I don't know exactly what happened to her once she moved there, but I really think she and my aunt were bullied for being poor and not being able to afford nice clothes." said Marie.

"At least my mother remained away from drugs other than her cigarettes, although she used to drink. Hey I can't blame her for that, her alcohol problem was probably the reason I was created and the reason why I'm lying in your arms right now!"

Marie began laughing at the joke she had made. Double Dee was surprised that Marie could have made a joke at such a sad situation, but nevertheless, he couldn't resist joining in on her joke.

"Unfortunately, my Aunt wasn't as lucky," said Marie, "In middle school, at about the age we were now, she was introduced to marijuana, and pressured into smoking it with her friends. Thankfully, my mother was smart enough not to get involved in that situation, as the marijuana eventually led to her trying crack cocaine. After the cocaine didn't give her what she wanted anymore, she had turned to heroin."

Marie took a breath and a pause before continuing.

"Eventually, she started prostituting in order to support her habit. My Mom Mom and Poppy were fed up with it and tried to get her help, but she refused and walked out of their apartment, never to return again."

Double Dee squeezed Marie tightly with the arm that was around her shoulder, and grabbed her right hand with his other hand, laying both of their hands on his chest.

"The police eventually found her lying in the street in an alleyway in between two factories. My mom was pregnant with Lee at the time, and my Aunt was three days away from turning 18. She died from a combination of being beat, most likely by one of her clients, and a drug overdose."

"Marie, that is truly a sad story," said Double Dee, who felt horrible for Marie's aunt's death, as well as imagining how her grandfather and grandmother must have felt after losing their daughter.

"I just can't believe that someone would be so weak to take that road through life." said Marie, "I guess that's why my Poppy really tried to be there for us as long as he could, and make sure that we didn't make the same mistakes as his children did. If you ask me, moving back here was probably the best decision my mom could have made for us."

"Did your grandmother pass away before you were born?" asked Double Dee, who hoped that he just didn't ask a rude question.

"No," said Marie, "She actually watched us sometimes when we were really little, the times when my Mom, Dad, and Poppy were working. She died a little after May was 2 years old."

Double Dee stopped and thought about the tragedies that befell the Kanker family. With one poor decision, a man who was trying to do all of the right things in life and raise his family peacefully was uprooted out of his home, and forced to move to a hostile environment. In this new environment, he was forced to watch helplessly as his two beautiful daughters were yanked away from him by the bad crowds and general inner city life. He watched his baby become dragged into the world of prostitution and illegal drugs, which eventually led to him losing her. His other daughter made poor decisions and wound up with three daughters of her own that she did not expect to have. On top of all of that, he had lost his wife at a relatively young age. Double Dee couldn't help but feel extremely sorry for Mr. Marion Kanker.

"Marie, I absolutely cannot imagine being your grandfather and watching my two daughters literally be ripped away from me as they were. He must have been an emotionally strong man to maintain his will to live." said Double Dee.

"Yeah," said Marie, "When I think back on it, I can't help but feel sorry for him. I really wish he was still here, he would have LOVED to meet you and talk to you about science and technology."

Marie chuckled with Double Dee.

"Does your mother ever visit her old home herself?" asked Double Dee.

"That's another thing we talked about today," said Marie, "She said that she can't even bring herself to walk by the old house because she hates seeing it in the condition it's in and it reminds her too much of my Poppy. She said it also makes her miss her childhood, and her dream to dance."

"That's understandable." said Double Dee.

Double Dee paused for a few seconds.

"Your mother must have really wanted to be a ballet dancer as a girl, I couldn't help but notice her tattoo of ballet shoes on her arm" said Double Dee.

Double Dee and Marie laughed for a few seconds before Marie broke the silence.

"And, Double Dee," said Marie, "Do you know what else I managed to find out today?"

"What is that Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"I found out what my last name would have been if I would have taken Bubbas name." said Marie grinning, "And let's just say it has Kanker beat as the worst possible name ever."

"And what was the name?" asked Double Dee.

"My name would have been Annemarie Eve Melchior." said Marie laughing.

Double Dee sat confused for a second, prompting Marie to explain herself.

"Slow it down a little, it's pronounced milky whore." said Marie as she giggled.

"I would take Kanker over that as well!" said Double Dee as he shared a laugh with Marie.

The couple remained in silence for a few seconds before something came to Double Dee's mind.

"So it was true then, in a sense." said Double Dee.

"What was true?" asked Marie

"Do you recall in the beginning of the school year when we had to write a report on the history of Peach Creek?" asked Double Dee.

"Yes I do," said Marie.

"Well when we finally found out that that book that Eddy had found was just another of Eddy's brothers childish prank, we began to believe that you had pulled the wool over our eyes as well when you added that last page that stated Peach Creek was founded by your family." said Double Dee.

Marie chuckled.

"We actually did prank you guys. It is so funny how things always worked out when it came to our little pranks and you and your friends." said Marie.

"Whatever do you mean Marie?" asked Double Dee.

"We found that paper in an old family scrap book, and were planning to show you guys it later that day and claim it was our family who founded Peach Creek. It just so happened that your adorable little self was running around with a book missing a page. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to play a little practical joke." said Marie as she grinned.

Double Dee was speechless, he had not realized how crafty the Kanker sisters really were when it came to messing with the Eds.

"Wow, you girls really did know what you were doing when it came to causing trouble for my friends and I." said Double Dee as he giggled. Marie giggled back.

"Nevertheless Marie," said Double Dee, "The prank you have pulled may have had some truth behind it. Your great-grandfather owned all of the land that we now live on at one point. So he in essence founded Peach Creek!"

"You know what Double Dee, you're really something." said Marie smiling as she leaned up and kissed her boyfriend on the lips.

Marie paused for a few seconds.

"Eddy's brother really is a jerk isn't he." asked Marie.

"Oh yes Marie," said Double Dee, "I couldn't believe how belligerent of a person he was upon meeting him. A brother who is 12 years older than their sibling should be setting an example for their younger sibling, not ruthlessly beating them to kingdom come."

Double Dee paused.

"And after what had occurred within the confines of his trailer with your sisters, what little respect I did have for him was absolutely lost." said Double Dee.

"He's a creep, a pervert and a bully." said Marie, "Scum of the earth! Anyone can beat up someone that is 12 years younger than them! He's a coward! I hope he gets more than just a steel door upside the face by someone his own size in the future"

"In fact, his abuse was the reason Eddy was the way he was prior to our meeting with his brother." said Double Dee, "I had moved to Peach Creek just shy of a few months after Eddy's brother had moved out, so I had never had the opportunity to become acquainted with him prior to meeting him at his amusement park. However, all of the other kids including Ed remembered him well. He was apparently a fixture of authority in his own mind, and the sheer prescience of he and his friends walking down the sidewalk was enough to make all of the kids scatter. He apparently referred to the neighborhood as 'his cul-de-sac'. However, it was much worse for young Eddy behind closed doors. Since the incident, Eddy has told me stories about his brother locking him in one of his friend's trunks, at the tender age of four, while he was supposed to be watching him so that he could party in Eddy's parent's house."

"That's horrible!" said Marie, "Poor Eddy."

"Yes, it was pretty tragic," said Double Dee, "However, as much as Eddy was brutally tortured by his brothers hostile demeanor, for some reason he wanted to live up to his brothers example. He concocted lies about his brother, and spread them all throughout the cul-de-sac. He had had us all fooled into thinking that his brother was a suave man, who was relatively close to Eddy, and would protect him no matter what. One time, he even threatened the whole cul-de-sac that his brother was returning, causing a large uproar amongst the children."

Double Dee paused

"It was a blessing that we were able to meet up with Eddy's brother once again, as the ordeal allowed Eddy to reflect on his ways. At that moment, he realized that his brother was everything that he didn't want to be in life, and he decided to change himself to become a better person." said Double Dee.

"Double Dee." said Marie as she leaned into Double Dees face, "I remember the exact moment when Eddy admitted his wrongdoings that afternoon. While Lee was busy eyeing up Eddy's brother, who was passed out at the time, I was watching the whole thing between you and Eddy. I was absolutely touched that you consoled Eddy, and that you were a good enough friend to be the first to reassure him that everything was going to be alright."

Double Dee was speechless as he looked into Maries eyes.

"It was at that moment that I knew I didn't have to be scared any more to talk to you. I knew that you had a knack for seeing the good in people, and that you would be able to look over our violent past and see the real me. Although I was afraid to do it right away, I knew that I could someday open up to you and show you who I really was and how I really felt about you."

Double Dee smiled into Maries face.

"I am glad I possess those kind of life skills," said Double Dee, "Or else I would have missed out on the most beautiful, kind hearted, and adventurous girl anyone could imagine."

Maries eyes filled with tears of joy at that moment, before they could even begin to slide down her face, she broke the silence.

"OOOOHH come here you!" yelled Marie as she grabbed Double Dees face and pulled it into hers, kissing him sweetly yet passionately. The kiss lasted for around a minute before Marie pulled away from him and looked him in the eye.

"I love you so much Annemarie." said Double Dee

"I love you too Double Dee." said Marie as she embraced Double Dee in a firm hug.

The couple sat in silence for a few moments before Marie broke the silence once again.

"You have to admit that it was satisfying to see that son-of-a-bitch go down hard after being cracked by that iron door." said Marie as she chuckled.

"I usually abhor violence, but I must say that it was quite satisfying to see that evil man pay his dues." said Double Dee.

"You don't know how much I wanted to give him a punch in the face of my own after he started picking on you and calling you a girl." said Marie. "And then, when he actually put his hands on you when you were sticking up for Eddy, I was seriously going to grab a metal pipe out of the dumpster and use it to beat him, thankfully May stopped me."

Marie began laughing, and Double Dee joined in as well, Maries face lit up with a grin as she asked her next question.

"Double Dee, what was the worst thing that we have ever done to you Ed's?" asked Marie with a grin on her face.

Double Dee was troubled by questions such as these, as he did not want to hurt Marie's feelings with an honest answer.

"C'mon cutie, please, and be honest none of that sweet stuff you are good for!" said Marie.

Double Dee thought long and hard before coming up with the situation that he felt most uncomfortable with.

"Alright, I can remember the most horrific situation that you have ever put me in." said Double Dee, "I can recall that it was a Friday, due to Ed's parents working that day, and later that night, we stayed over Ed's for a movie marathon. In fact, it was the Friday directly before the weekend that you tricked us into marrying you in your Poppy's house."

"I think I know what you are getting at." said a snickering Marie.

"Well, that morning, after a failed experiment with my home brewed soda pop, I managed to find a mysterious key lying on the ground. Long story short, Eddy's curiosity caused us to spend the whole morning searching the entire cul-de-sac for a lock that the said key would open. While we were in the midst of our search, you girls showed up and chased to Ed's house, where we discovered that the door was locked. We had put two and two together and determined that the key was actually Ed's house key and must have fallen out of his pocket. Unfortunately for us, Eddy couldn't get the door open in time, so you girls managed to get a hold of us."

Marie giggled.

"Thank goodness for us girls that Ed had one of those medieval torture devices in his basement closet, I forget what they're called." said Marie.

"I believe they are called stocks." said Double Dee, "And I curse Ed for asking for one of those devices for his 10th birthday."

Marie laughed.

"How else were we going to keep your feet still?" asked Marie, before she laughed.

Double Dee couldn't help but emit a laugh as well.

"Wanna try it again?" asked Marie as she leaned up on the edge of the bed, attempting to position her feet in such a manner to touch them to Double Dees.

"Take off your socks sweetie!" said Marie playfully, "You know you want to."

Double Dee hesitated for a few seconds. He contemplated actually giving into Maries wishes, but she soon came up with other plans.

"Wait, I have an even better idea!" said Marie, "Remember when we wrestled last summer and you were the Masked Mumbler!" Marie laughed as Double Dee blushed thinking of how foolish he looked in that costume.

"Come on," said Marie as she reached for her black shirt, "Let's get dressed and have a rematch!"

"Marie, are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Double Dee as he pulled his red shirt over his head.

"Of course it is cutie!" said Marie as she slipped her pants on, "And even if you didn't want to, I don't think you have a choice!"

Marie lunged at Double Dee and tackled him to the bed, the couple spent the next few minutes wrestling each other on the floor, sharing laughs as they did so all in good fun. Of course, Marie was once again the victor in most of their matches, but Double Dee didn't mind one bit. They eventually tired out and sat on Double Dees bed out of breath.

"Yay I won!" yelled Marie, "What's my prize Oven Mitt?"

Double Dee leaned into Marie and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thanks," she said, "But I was expecting this."

Marie grabbed Double Dees face and kissed him on the lips for around 5 seconds, after which she pulled away. Double Dee lied back down on his bed and placed his arm under Marie as she leaned on his shoulder.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Double Dee took notice of his computer and remembered that Marie had wanted to listen to music the other night when she was at his house. He had been thinking about doing something for the last couple days and decided to go through with his plan.

"Marie," said Double Dee, "Would you mind if I put on some music from Youtube?"

"No I wouldn't at all" said Marie, "What do you have in mind?"

"Well let's see." said Double Dee as he walked over to his computer. With a quick internet search, he found the song he was looking for, and turned the computer speakers on.

"I used to play this song with my father and James." said Double Dee as he clicked the play button on the video,

"And to be perfectly honest Marie, this song makes me think of you." he said nervously.

With the click of the play button, the sound of _Wonderful Tonight_ by Eric Clapton began emanating through the computer speakers. Marie's eyes lit up.

"I love rock music and I love this song." she said as she stood up, "It's so pretty!"

Double Dee was nervous, but he decided to take the lead and be spontaneous as Marie always was with him. He held his arms out to Marie.

"Would…you like to dance Marie?" asked Double Dee nervously.

"I would love to." said Marie.

With that, Marie walked closer to Double Dee and wrapped her arms around his neck. Double Dee placed his arms on her waist and began attempting his first real slow dance with a girl. Both Marie and Double Dee had never done such a thing before, but the couple had gotten used to the prospect and the actual steps by the end of the songs introduction.

As the couple danced around Double Dees room, they stared into each others eyes deeply. Without even realizing it, Double Dee had begun singing the lyrics to Marie, something he probably would have been extremely nervous about doing if he wasn't in the ultimate heat of the moment. After a while, Marie leaned in and placed her head on his shoulder as they continued dancing; she couldn't help smiling. Marie could have not felt happier in her entire life, as Double Dee sang the lyrics of the song into her ear as they danced.

Finally the song ended, and with the ending Marie kissed Double Dee on the lips for around ten seconds after the last chord.

"I love you so much Double Dee." said Marie, holding back tears of joy.

"I love you too Marie." said Double Dee.

Unfortunately, it was a school night and the clock was showing the time to be 9:30. The couple decided that it was once again time to say goodbye to each other for the night.

"I always hate this time of the night Double Dee." said Marie as she walked towards the door.

"I concur Marie," said Double Dee as he opened the door for his girlfriend.

The couple began walking down the hallway towards the stairs when Marie stopped Double Dee.

"Double Dee," said Marie, "I have a couple of things to ask you."

"I'm all ears Marie." said Double Dee.

Marie pinned Double Dee up against the hallway wall while she donned her cute smile.

"Well first, I was wondering if you wanted to come over to the trailer tomorrow night, maybe for another movie and to hang out again. Lee is going to be out with my mom, but May will be home if you don't mind."

Double Dee felt ecstatic that he was going to see his girlfriend so soon once again.

"Sure, I would be delighted to join you for yet another fun filled evening." said Double Dee smiling.

"Okay, great!" said Marie, "Now for question number two, I just wanted to give you a heads up a couple days before. Every year, my Dad gets free tickets to the ice rink just outside of town from his union for a family skate night. He and his girlfriend Linda take us to the rink every year to ice skate. He is allowed to take as many tickets as he wants, and he usually just takes five, but this year I asked if he could bring home an extra ticket."

Double Dee immediately knew who the extra ticket was for.

"Double Dee, would you be my date to the ice rink on Tuesday?" asked Marie using her cute smile.

"I would be delighted to attend Marie, but unfortunately I do not own a single pair of ice skates." said Double Dee, rather nervously

"You don't have to silly," said Marie, "We don't have anything either, we can rent them when we get there."

Marie chuckled.

"Silly me," said Double Dee, "In that case, I would love to go!"

"Great," said Marie, "My Dad's picking us up around 6, so I guess I can tell him to be at your house around that time too?"

"Sure that works for me." said Double Dee.

Double Dee walked Marie down the stairs and to the front door. After sharing their love, a kiss, and their goodnights, the couple parted ways for yet another night. Double Dee watched his girlfriend turn the corner and blow a kiss at him as she did so.

Double Dee shut the door and retired to his room, thinking of all of the things that were said and accomplished today as he changed into his pajamas. His beautiful thoughts were soon interrupted by a horrible realization; he couldn't roller skate for beans, let alone ice skate. Nevertheless, even if he did make a fool out of himself on the ice Tuesday night, he would be making a fool out of himself with the most beautiful girl on two feet, his beloved Marie.


	36. Chapter 36

**Chapter 36**

It was a dreary Monday morning, and the denizens of Peach Creek woke up to an overcast sky and a downpour of rain. Ed, Edd, n Eddy were currently standing on the sidewalk in front of Ed's house, readying themselves for their trek to their school.

"This stinks!" yelled Eddy, "What a lousy freakin day. And it's a Monday hallejuha." He said sarcastically.

"Cheer up Eddy," said Double Dee, who was standing underneath an umbrella, "I'm sure this squall will pass rather quickly just as it did yesterday."

"Yeah, but there's one problem Sock Head." said Eddy, "The schools a half mile away and we gotta walk through this!"

Just then, the boys heard the sound of a car horn. They turned to see Ed's mothers Ford Explorer sitting at the edge of the drive way with its headlights on. Ms. Fullerton was on her way to the grocery store, and had offered to give the boys, as well as Sarah and Jimmy a ride to school.

"See Eddy, fortune truly does work in mysterious ways!" said Double Dee smiling as he ran to Ed's mothers SUV.

The boys reached the vehicle. Double Dee and Eddy opened the rear doors and moved into the back seat. Ed had attempted to open the front door to take his place in the passenger seat, when Sarah pushed him out of the way, subsequently squeezing herself snuggly into the middle front seat, smiling and sticking her tongue out at Ed.

"Come on Jimmy, sit next to me." she said calmly, as Jimmy attempted to climb into the front seat next to her.

"Sarah, you sat in the front the other day!" yelled Ed, "It's my turn."

"Back off fish face!" yelled Sarah, "It's me and Jimmy's turn!"

Ms. Fullerton quickly stopped the argument. With the single motion of her thumb towards the back seat, Ed was forced to relinquish the front seat to Sarah and Jimmy, much to Sarah's delight.

"Haha, I win again!" yelled Sarah as Ed's mother began driving out of the cul-de-sac. Sarah received a theoretical slap on the wrist from Ed's mother for insulting her brother and rubbing her victory in.

As Ed's mother continued down Rathink Avenue, she placed a CD in the car stereo system. A moment later, California Girls by Katy Perry began playing through the cars speakers. As the carpool passed through the business district, the boys began conversing in the back seat.

"So Double Dee, what did you do last night?" asked Eddy, "Wait, let me guess, you spent it with MARIE!" Eddy said Marie's name in a long drawn out manner and batted his eyes while clasping his hands, in an attempt to tease his friend. Eddy and Ed laughed

"Well Eddy, if you must know, I did spend last night with Marie." said Double Dee.

"OOOHHHHH," Eddy whispered as to not let Ed' mother, who was currently talking to Sarah about school, hear the joke he was about to make, "Hear that Ed, Double Dee, "spent last night" with Marie."

Eddy and Ed laughed.

"Wait, why are we laughing Eddy?" asked Ed, his naivety not allowing him to grasp the joke.

"Forget it, you wouldn't understand anyway lumpy, you're still too afraid of chicks to take them into that room of yours!" said Eddy, as he chuckled

Double Dee saw the opportunity to put Eddy in his place.

"And I suppose you have Eddy?" asked Double Dee as he giggled.

Eddy sat shocked at Double Dees joke.

"Geez Double Dee, that girl has really loosened ya the hell up!" yelled Eddy.

"You walked right into that one Eddy." said Double Dee still giggling.

At this point, Eddy was angered inside. Eddy was a suave lady's man in his own eyes, but his attitudes towards women, as well as his obsession with his "magazines" were mostly responsible for him never having a girlfriend, as well as never even receiving a real kiss from a girl. Eddy already knew that Double Dee had received a voluntarily kiss from a girl, which infuriated him. To make matters worse Eddy's pride was even more hurt at the fact that Double Dee could have done more things than kiss Marie while alone with her in his house.

"So what did you gentlemen do in my absence last night?" asked Double Dee.

Eddy paused attempting to come up with a lie, as he did so, Ed chimed in.

"We went over to Eddy's an…." Started Ed before Eddy cut him off.

"Nothing much," said Eddy slyly, "We just played video games over at Kevin's again."

Eddy gave Ed an angry look.

The boys continued talking for another 2 minutes at which point the SUV pulled up in front of Peach Creek Junior High. The rain had kicked up quite a bit during their car ride, and Sarah and Jimmy quickly got out of the truck and began running towards the Peach Creek Elementary Annex building. Ed, Edd, and Eddy followed suit, but not before Double Dee leaned into the front seat.

"Thank you very much for the ride to school Ms. Fullerton." said Double Dee, "Your kind gesture was greatly appreciated!"

"Thanks Ms. F!" yelled Eddy as he slid out of the back seat after Double Dee.

"Thanks mom!" said Ed.

Ms. Fullerton gave the boys their welcomes, as they exited. Double Dee and Eddy stood outside the car for a few seconds while Ms. Fullerton grabbed Ed's face and kissed him on the cheek telling him she loved him, much to Ed's dismay. The gesture prompted Eddy to giggle as they ran into the school to escape the pouring rain.

The boys walked down the hallway towards their lockers, saying hello to all of their peers. They eventually reached their lockers and began exchanging their belongings to start the day. Eddy was still giggling at Ed's mother showing her affections to him.

"I see your mommy really woves you Edward!" yelled Eddy in a babyish voice as he began laughing.

"Eddy, there should be no reason for Ed to feel embarrassed about his mother expressing her love for him." said Double Dee as he closed his locker "My goodness, has society really placed a social stigma on being emotionally close to a parent."

"Geez, that didn't last long," said Eddy, referring to Double Dee's ability to loosen up and joke in the car.

"Your childish antics are not amusing Eddy." said Double Dee as he picked up his book bag.

"Whatever Sock Head," said Eddy as he admired himself in his locker mirror, "Besides, you'll never be able to top me with your jokes, I'm the prank master of Peach Creek remember?"

"Right." Said Double Dee sarcastically as Eddy closed his locker and the boys began walking down the hallway.

"DOUBLE DEE ED BOY!" yelled a loud voice.

Double Dee turned around to see Rolf running toward him quickly.

"Quickly Egg Head Ed boy," said Rolf in a panicked state, "Rolf requires your assistance with writing his essay in this confusing gibberish you call English. Please, hear Rolf's pleas."

Double Dee took Rolf's essay off of him and began reading it. Of course, most of the grammar was wrong, as well as many of the verb conjugations. Double Dee quickly sighed and took a red pen out of his shirt pocket, placing marks, and correcting errors in sentence structure wherever it was needed. Double Dee took around five minutes to finish, and handed the paper back to Rolf.

"Here you go Rolf, I have scanned through your essay and have highlighted all of the errors, in addition to including notes that will assist you in making adequate corrections." said Double Dee.

Rolf glanced at the paper filled with markings in red pen confused for a few seconds before smiling and emitting his well known "Ho Ho" laugh.

"Rolf wishes to thank you with the arm pit rub of gratefulness!" yelled Rolf as he raised Double Dees arm and rubbed his underarm, a gesture that violated Double Dees personal space.

"Your very welcome Rolf," said an uncomfortable Double Dee.

"Rolf would also like to offer you the finest turnips from Nana's garden." Said Rolf as he reached into his book bag and pulled out two turnips, handing them to Double Dee.

"Thank you very much Rolf, I am honored." said a confused Double Dee as he took the turnips.

At that moment, the sound of the bell emanated through the hallway, signifying all of the kids to head to their homeroom.

"Rolf would love to stay and chat, but I must really be going. Bye Bye now!" yelled Rolf as he waved and walked away.

"Salutations Rolf!" yelled Double Dee. Even though Rolf had good intentions and was friendly, Double Dee couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as Rolf cultural beliefs often alienated him.

After homeroom, all of the kids made their way to first period. For Double Dee, Eddy, and Kevin, their first period was history, a class that they also shared with May. Naturally, Double Dee had chosen a seat close the front of the room in the second row, as he did everyday due to his interest in performing well academically. Eddy and Kevin, who didn't care nearly as much as Double Dee, usually spent their time in history class sitting in the back of the room, listening to their I pods or otherwise fooling around.

A little over a minute after the three boys took their seats, May Kanker entered the classroom carrying her pink single strapped book bag. May glanced around the room, and took notice of Double Dee sitting at his desk, preparing his books. May walked over toward him and took an empty seat directly next to him. She tapped Double Dee on the shoulder playfully and smiled as he looked up at her. Eddy and Kevin watched as the two began a friendly conversation that they couldn't hear due to all of the chatter from other students.

"Dude!" said Kevin as he leaned into Eddy, "Not only does he have Marie on his side, it looks like he might have the other two wrapped into this too, my man is in deep."

Eddy was thrilled that Kevin was still feeding into his lies.

"I know tell me about it!" said Eddy, "We got this thing in the bag." said Eddy as he grinned and laughed with Kevin.

The history teacher, Mr. Mulherin entered the room and silenced the class so that he could begin his lecture. Mr. Mulherin usually taught by turning the lights off and reading notes on an overhead projector, giving Eddy and Kevin the perfect opportunity to participate in tomfoolery.

"Yo dork." said Kevin as he leaned into Eddy, "What exactly are we gonna do for our part on Wednesday anyway?"

Eddy grinned.

"Alright big chin." said Eddy, "Here's the deal. On Wednesday, we're gonna…"

Eddy was cut off as Mr. Mulherin had caught the two boys not paying attention and promptly asked 'Mr. McGee and Mr. Cleary' to separate. Eddy stood up from his desk to relocate to a desk on the opposite side of the room.

"We'll talk at lunch." said Eddy quietly as he picked up his book bag.

Eddy walked over to the empty desk near the windows and took his seat. He spent the rest of the period daydreaming and watching Double Dee sit, diligently copying everything displayed on the overhead projector into his notebook. He couldn't help but notice that May was following the same precedent, although at a much slower pace. Her slow pace forced her to ask Double Dee if she could see the notes she had missed from a previous transparency.

The rest of the morning was a blur to Eddy, as he had spent all of his time in each class daydreaming, except algebra; due to Ed's prescience and a substitute teacher, he spent his time fooling around with Ed and other students, laughing at the subs inability to control the class.

Before the boys knew it, the lunch bell had finally rung. Thankfully for Eddy, Monday was the day that Double Dee fulfilled his duty as nurses assistant, thus he would not be in the cafeteria as Eddy and Kevin discussed their plan. Fortunately for Double Dee, he did not have to worry about missing out on seeing his beautiful black haired, green eyed beauty. Marie was not in school today due to her assisting her mother for extra money during the lunch hours.

Eddy and Ed quickly exchanged their books at their lockers before darting towards the cafeteria. Eddy did not pack his own lunch today, so he had to get a spot in the lunch line, which tended to fill up rather quickly.

Ed and Eddy rounded the corner to find Kevin leaning his hand on the wall, whispering into Nazz's ear as she exchanged her books. Whatever he was saying was causing her to giggle and blush. Eddy remembered his promise to Kevin and walked up to the couple. Eddy placed his hand on Kevin's shoulder.

"Ms. van Bartonschmeer," said Eddy in a playful manner, "Ya think I can borrow Kev for a couple minutes."

Nazz appeared as though she was slightly annoyed. Kevin looked at her then looked back at Eddy.

"Listen Eddy," said Kevin, "I promised Nazz that I would sit with her today at lunch. I haven't really seen her all weekend cause we played hockey and had to game night on Saturday, and then she went to her aunts on Sunday."

"It'll just be a minute." said Eddy, "I promise."

Kevin hesitated for a few seconds before turning to his girlfriend.

"Hey Nazz, you wouldn't mind if I talked to Eddy for a few minutes before we eat would ya?" asked Kevin.

Nazz was annoyed.

"No Kevin, not at all." said Nazz in a sarcastic tone.

"Rad!" said Kevin, "Go save us a table, and I'll be there in a few. I promise!"

Eddy, Kevin and Ed quickly ran through the cafeteria doors. As Eddy grabbed his lunch, Kevin and Ed found an empty table. Nazz stood at her locker, checking her eye shadow, wondering what Kevin and Eddy had needed to talk about in secret so badly for the last few days. Today marked the third time that she was blown off by Kevin for some kind of secret conversation. She finished running her fingers through her hair and closed her locker. She decided to forget about what was going on and entered the lunchroom to wait for her boyfriend.

Ed, Eddy and Kevin began eating their lunch while discussing the plan that Eddy had to sabotage Double Dee and Marie's relationship in secrecy. Eddy and Kevin spent the period laughing and making jokes about the things they would do. Ed however, seemed indifferent to the plan; he did not once chime in or laugh at any of their jokes, even though he fully grasped what was happening. Eventually, Kevin became so engrossed in discussing the plan that he had completely forgot about his promise to Nazz. Nazz, fed up with Kevins shenanigans, left the lunchroom for the gymnasium where she would practice her cheerleading routine.

Double Dee, still entirely unaware that two of his friends were working to sabotage his beautiful relationship was currently reorganizing the nurses files. He was sworn to secrecy to not look into anyone's files, and held his integrity with honor; but that didn't stop him from holding a certain folder in the K section slightly longer than the rest. As he looked at the words Annemarie Kanker on the tab, he couldn't help but miss seeing his love's beautiful freckled face. He didn't have to wait long to see her again, as he was to join her and May at their trailer that night. Double Dee smiled as he placed the folder back into the cabinet and continued performing his duty.


	37. Chapter 37

**Chapter 37**

The afternoon weather was much more tolerable than the weather that the students had to face on the way into school that morning. The sky was a beautiful blue color, and the weather was around 50º F and was slightly warm for the time of the year. Nevertheless it was welcomed whole heartedly by all of the kids of Peach Creek, who had just been dismissed by the afternoon bell. Ed, Edd and Eddy were currently walking out of the school building.

"I hate that Ms. Volin and her pop quizzes!" yelled Eddy, who was holding an English quiz consisting of 5 multiple choice questions. The paper was filled with red pen marks and had a large 0 written near his name in red ink.

"My word Eddy, is blaming the teacher really the answer?" said Double Dee as he placed his quiz, with a 100 near his name, into his book bag "I highly doubt that you had even taken the time to read the material. I am sure that if you gave these wonderful works of literature a chance, you would perform much better on your assessments."

Eddy looked on annoyingly as Double Dee continued his soliloquy.

"I mean think of the wonderful and joyous lessons novels such as Of Mice and Men offer. Literature is the perfect way for one to become in tune to their own imagination, as well as analyze and reflect on their own lives."

"Yeah right," said Eddy, "What kind of lesson are you going to learn from a guy that wants to do nothing but 'tend the rabbits'" Eddy made his voice into a dopey sounding voice as he said 'tend the rabbits."

"Oh Eddy, your totally missing it!" said Ed.

"Like you know Ed." said Eddy.

"George and Lenny are in more than just a partnership that will hopefully lead them to wealth and good fortune. They are true friends, and share an unconditional love for each other. That is really what is to be learned from this story, to always treat your friends in a wholehearted manner, and to never let them down." said Ed in his usually dopey sounding voice. However the words rolled off his tongue so easily that no one had thought that Ed had just spoken.

Double Dee and Eddy stood shocked at Ed's sudden spike in brain power.

"Ed, is that you in there?" asked Eddy as he waved his hands in front of Ed's eyes.

"Ed, that was amazing!" yelled Double Dee, "I had no idea that you had such an interest in critically analyzing literary prose!"

Double Dee reached for Ed's quiz, taking it out of his hand.

"You must have received an impeccable score as well!" said an excited Double Dee.

Double Dee looked at the test paper, and was appalled that Ed's test had a large 0 written at the top of it as well. All of the answers he had written were quotes from Star Wars and old monster movies. Eddy walked over to Double Dee and glanced at the test himself.

"Well that was some stroke of luck wasn't it?" said a surprised Eddy.

"But how could this possibly be?" asked Double Dee, "Ed you gave an extraordinary rebuttal to Eddy's statement, yet you didn't even try to answer any of these questions correctly on the test."

"Buttered toast!" said Ed as he adorned his dopey smile that he was well known for.

"Curse Ed's spontaneous displays of genius." said Double Dee under his breath.

Just then, May and Lee Kanker had exited the front doors of the school. May was carrying her pink single strap book bag once again, while Lee carried a double strapped leather back pack that looked as though it had seen better days. The girls took notice of the Eds.

"Hiya boys!" they yelled as the waved and continued walking past them.

Double Dee was the only one of the Ed's to respond.

"Greeting ladies!" said an enthusiastic Double Dee,

"Greetings ladies!" repeated Eddy under his breath while groaning. He could not believe that Double Dee had just given the Kankers enough respect to call them ladies.

"I hope you're ready to see Marie tonight Double Dee!" yelled May as she continued walking, "She sure is excited to see you!"

"Yeah," said Lee as she smiled, exposing her capped tooth, "She wouldn't shut up about ya for the who five minutes before she had to go this mornin'!"

"I absolutely cannot wait to see her as well!" said Double Dee.

"I won't be there tonight!" said Lee, "Or else I'd invite Eddy over so he could have a little snuggle time!"

Lee and May laughed, as Eddy groaned.

"Alright then, see ya tonight Double Dee!" yelled May as her and her sister began walking down the street towards Peach Creek estates.

"Alright boys, let's get movin!" yelled Eddy, "Double Dee's gotta help us with our essays before he goes to Maries so that we don't fail the semester."

Eddy began leading the boys out of the school grounds, when they heard the familiar sound of a loud diesel engine pull up alongside them. The boys turned to see a large red tractor, it's large drive wheels were at least 6 feet in diameter. The tractor was pulling a trailer that was guarded by railings and contained seats made of bales of hay, not unlike those on Halloween hayrides. The boys looked up to see Rolf sitting behind the steering wheel.

"Hello Ed boys!" yelled Rolf, "Rolf is very grateful, for the Double Dee Ed boy has allowed him to grasp the nuances of the simple English!"

Rolf held his graded essay down to Double Dee so that he could see the improvement. Apparently, Rolf had still been confused as to what to do with the paper, even though Double Dee had practically rewritten it for him. Nevertheless, his grade had gone from an F to D which made Rolf extremely proud.

"Ed boys, please come with Rolf." said Rolf as he waved his hand towards them, "With great thanks, Rolf would like you to join him on his trek back to the cul-de-sac."

The boys stood confused.

"Please, come, hop in Ed boys! We must be onward. Nana will be so proud of this son of a shepherd!" yelled Rolf over the diesel engine.

"You heard the man!" said Eddy smiling, "Let's go!"

"Let's go on a hayride Double Dee!" yelled Ed as he jumped into the trailer, promptly burying himself under the hay while laughing

Double Dee sighed as he reluctantly jumped into the trailer with Ed and Eddy

Rolf pulled the tractor out of the school grounds, and to the boy's surprise, began driving the farming vehicle down the middle of Market Street, the main business avenue of Peach Creek. Rolf was only traveling at a rate of around 10 mph, and motorists were showing their aggravation with Rolf. While several cars behind him beeped at his slow driving, Rolf was humming folk songs from his native country while steadying the tractors steering. The thick exhaust from the tractor was traveling back into the trailer and practically choking the boys.

"Rolf's tractor obviously does not conform to modern motor vehicle emission standards." said Double Dee while trying to hold back a cough. "And I can only hope that the authorities don't take notice of us as I don't believe tractors such as this are street legal."

Just then, the traffic signal in front of them deactivated its bottom blue-green light, and activated it's centrally mounted yellow light. Rolf was around 20 feet away from the intersection and there was no possible way that he was going to make it through the light before it turned red. Double Dee took notice that the tractor wasn't slowing down.

"Rolf, Rolf….ROLF!" yelled Double Dee. Rolf didn't hear his friend's cries and careened the tractor through the red light. Thankfully, the drivers on the cross street had been able to stop to avoid a collision; they were however extremely aggravated, and all beeped their horns at Rolf's blunder, although he paid absolutely no mind and continued humming his folk song.

"Apparently, the rules of the road don't cross cultural boundaries either!" yelled an extremely distressed Double Dee

"Forget about that." said an annoyed Eddy, "Rolf's driving slower than my grandma! We would have done better walking!"

Eddy got up and walked to the front of the trailer and leaned forward attempting to get as close to Rolf as possible.

"Hey Rolf!" yelled Eddy, his voice overpowering the sound of the engine. "Can't you make this thing go any faster!"

"Sorry loudmouth Ed boy." said Rolf, "Rolf can only exceed the speed of the goats gait on only two simple conditions."

Eddy groaned. Suddenly, Kevin pulled up alongside the tractor in the bike lane, with Nazz sitting behind him on the banana seat. Nazz had forgiven Kevin for his little mishap, and was gladly conversing with him on their ride home.

"Yo boys!" yelled Kevin, "Goin on a hayride?"

Kevin laughed as the boys exchanged hellos.

"Hey Rolf man, you wanna race that thing against my ride?" said Kevin grinning.

At this point, the boys were at the final intersection before they reached the cul-de-sac. Rolf had been longing for a race for a few days now, and couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"Very well Kevin we shall race." said Rolf.

Before the boys knew it, the tractor's engine suddenly revved to high speed and they found themselves traveling at an excess of 25 mph. The trailer bounced around on the asphalt. The tractor easily outran Kevin on his bike, and reached the inlet of the cul-de-sac. Rolf bypassed the inlet and opted to drive the tractor into the lane so that he could park it in his yard, but not before letting the Ed's off at the end of the cul-de-sac.

"Geez, why couldn't Kevin show up earlier!" said Eddy as the boys walked to his house, "Now that's how you're supposed to drive!" yelled an excited Eddy.

"Are you insane Eddy!" yelled a shaken up Double Dee, "We could have been killed!"

"Ah whatever Sock Head. Come on let's go to my place so we can work on our papers before you have to go to your girls house." said Eddy

Double Dee sighed as he ran after his two friends, following them to Eddy's house so that they could work on their papers.

The trek home was much different for the red and blonde haired Kanker girls, who had to walk the whole way home. After spending their walk conversing and making jokes with each other, the girls had finally reached their trailer. They expected Marie to be home, as well as their mother who would be showering to prepare for her evening shift with Lee.

The two girls walked up to the trailer door and opened it to find Marie lying on the couch with her arms behind her head watching television. The sound of water running through the pipes concealed by the suspended ceiling indicated that their mother was already in the shower.

Both Kanker girls dropped their backpacks. May kicked her shoes off and walked out into the kitchen to grab a can of Pepsi.

"Yo lazy bitch, how was your day?" asked Lee playfully as she walked over to the couch. Marie pulled her feet up to give her sister a place to sit.

"Same old, same old bubble ass" replied Marie, "How was school?"

"Boring, as usual." said Lee as she sat down, "YO MAY! Get me a soda too!"

May returned into the living room with two cans of soda, giving one of them to her older sister.

"I guess ya really missed you man today Marie?" asked Lee as she opened her soda, causing the characteristic hiss and snap of a soda can.

"You don't even know Lee." said Marie in a dreamy voice.

"Speaking of Double Dee, I talked to him in history class!" yelled May.

"Really." said Marie as her eyes lit up, "What did he say?"

May paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"Well, he said that he's gonna dump you and start dating me because he found me so irresistible!" said May with a grin on her face.

Lee and May laughed hysterically as Marie punched her sister in the arm playfully. May continued.

"Relax Marie, I would never try to steal your man!" said May, "But we really did talk, I asked him about the family night at the ice rink and he said that you already told him about it."

"Yeah, I told him last night," said Marie, "He was so cute, I love it when he gets that sexy nervous smile when I ask him certain things."

All three girls giggled.

"Alright enough small talk," said Lee grinning, "Let's get to the juicy details, what did ya do last night with him?"

Marie explained her night with Double Dee to May, including their kiss in the rain, as well as their beautiful slow dance at the end of the night. Naturally, Marie now felt comfortable enough to tell her sisters about her and Double Dees session of passion, including details about his "performance." This prompted giggles from all of the girls.

"Damn Marie," said Lee laughing, "I should have went after Double Dee since he knows how to please a girl so well!"

"Well he's mine Lee!" yelled Marie, slightly jealous at Lee's last statement

"Whoah there, relax I'm just jokin!" yelled Lee, "He's all yours! Besides, I'm so hot I can have any guy I want in my pants!"

All three girls giggled at Marie's statement. A few seconds later, Tabitha began descending the stairs. She was wearing a pair of jeans that especially showed off her rather large waist to hip ratio as well as her unusually large buttocks. She was wearing a strapless blouse that showed off her tattoos and her red curly hair was hanging down to her shoulders. Her hair appeared silky smooth due to her adding moisturizer to it. Lastly, she was wearing the high heeled boots that Marie had used to attract Double Dees attention to her hip sway a few nights ago. She looked like a slightly larger and older version of Lee, as her eyes were shaped just like Marie and Lees. In fact, if Lee grew her hair out to her shoulders, and pushed it out of her eyes, she would be the spitting image of Tabby.

Tabby bid her middle and youngest daughter farewell and left the trailer with Lee to begin their trek to the restaurant. May walked over to the television and switched the channel, eventually putting on Action News as there was nothing else on. May returned to the couch and turned to her older sister.

"So wait, he actually slow danced with you around his room?" asked an excited May.

"May, you don't even know," said Marie smiling, "It was the most romantic thing ever!"

"And he sung the lyrics into your ear! That's so cute!" said May.

"I know," said Marie, "I felt like I was going to melt right there in his arms!"

The two girls giggled before May sighed and continued.

"I wish my Big Ed would do something romantic like that for me." said May as she looked down towards the floor.

Marie thought about Mays statement for a few seconds. She had decided to ask a question she had been curious about for awhile.

"Hey May," said Marie, "What exactly made you girls go after the Ed's anyway?"

Marie and May paused, Marie decided to add a little more detail to her question.

"I mean, I already told you that I started falling for Double Dee after seeing that he was such a nice guy, and even though I thought he was insanely cute the first time I laid eyes on him, that wasn't the only reason I liked him." said Marie.

"Well, they were the only boys in the neighborhood," said May still looking away from her sister, "And you know how Lee gets whenever there a boy around."

"Ah cut the crap May," said Marie, "What about Kevin, Rolf, or that weird kid that carries that piece of wood around."

May sat silent.

"What really attracted you to Ed?" asked Marie.

May blushed.

"Well…because he's Ed!" said May

"What do you mean, you just thought he was cute or something?" said Marie.

May looked into her sisters eyes.

"Well duh, I think he's the hottest man on two feet!" yelled May in her nasally obnoxious voice.

May paused and blushed once again before continuing.

"But I sort of started to like him best out of all of the boys for a different reason." said May.

Marie was intrigued by May's statements

"What do you mean May?" asked Marie.

"Well, see it's weird," said May, "But I always felt like he was just like me."

Maries eyes widened as she made a sudden realization. Up until this point she thought that she was the only one who was deviant from the train of thought that was supposedly shared by all three Kanker sisters.

"Wait, what do you mean May?" asked Marie curious about the matter.

"Well" said May, embarrassed, "See, I'll admit that I'm not smart at all Marie. And I'll also admit that Ed isn't smart either so that kind of makes us the same. But even though he isn't smart, he is such a nice guy, and he's a friend to anyone, that's what I like about him.

Marie could not believe her ears. Her suspicions were confirmed, she was not the only one of her sisters who truly liked the guy she chased after for who he was and not just for attention or to get a kiss.

"He never judges anyone, and he accepts anyone with open arms as his friend, even if they're complete strangers." said May.

May then paused as tears began streaming down her face.

"Everyone except me, he hates me!" yelled May as she buried her eyes into her hands.

Marie moved closer to May and placed her arms around hr in an embrace. May leaned in and began crying on her sister's shoulder.

"May, I really don't think that Ed hates you." said Marie, "I think he's just afraid of you, just like Double Dee was with me at first!"

Mays puffy blue eyes looked up into her sisters green eyes.

"But after all the things I did to him, he'll never forgive me!" yelled May as she began crying again.

"Hey!" said Marie as she repositioned her sisters face so that she was looking into her eyes. "Come on tell the truth, did you ever imagine Double Dee actually coming over here willingly to see me?"

May shook her head from side to side as if saying no.

"So what makes you think that Ed is any different?" asked Marie, "Your right, he does take everyone as his friend, and is a nice guy. So if that's the case, I think if you showed him the real May Lonergan, he would be able to see past everything and welcome you with open arms."

May sobbed for a second before smiling.

"You really think so Marie?" asked May.

"I know so," said Marie smiling, "Trust me, these Ed's are suckers for bad girls with big hearts!" said Marie cracking a joke attempting to lighten May's spirits. May couldn't help but chuckle at her sisters joke. Her face soon became melancholy once again.

"What's the matter May?" asked Marie as she put her hand on her sisters shoulder.

"He won't even give me a chance." said May before she started crying, "Look at these teeth, I'm ugly as sin!"

"May, I would trade this screwed up eye any day for your teeth!" said Marie, "And whoever said you were ugly?"

"All of the kids back in the city, remember that day they held me down and shoved the log into my mouth and forced me to chew on it while they called me Bucky Beaver." said May crying heavily.

"Screw them all May," said Marie, "they weren't worth our time and they certainly aren't worth thinking about now!"

Marie could not help feeling Double Dees wonderful personality rubbing off on her. In addition to picking up his complicated speech patterns, she was picking up his uncanny ability to make others feel better. She could clearly see that her sister was in distress, and that she needed someone to confide in. After all, May had helped Marie throughout her relationship with Double Dee many times, so it was only right for her to be there to help her sister at this moment.

"I know it's hard to break the habit and show your true self May." said Marie, "Between mom and Lee feeding us that garbage about men being no good and to just hop from one guy to the next, we really had no other view of life."

Marie paused.

"Although Lee did fill our heads with the wrong ideas about men, and even convinced you to take part in that situation with Eddy's brother, I can't really blame her. She should have really gotten psychiatric help for the torment that she suffered as a child. She was taught from a young age that doing things like that was right, and it makes me sick to think that that happened to her." said Marie.

"That's another thing." said May distraught, "Now I'm tainted after what we did with Eddy's brother last summer!"

"May don't you dare ever think that you were completely at fault for what happened." Said Marie, "Okay sure, Lee started it, but that pervert didn't even try to make you two stop once he woke up, so I blame that creep just as much if not more!"

Marie put her arms around her sister and gave her a hug once more. May's mood seemed to be lifted slightly as her tears were no longer running from her eyes. She smiled.

"As for Lee," said May, "I think she just chose Eddy because he was the only one left, hell I think she'd chase after the biker and the foreign guy too if she had the chance."

Marie laughed.

"She did," said Marie, "Remember when she caught Kevin and had him strapped to the wheel in the junkyard? We had to stand there and watch her spin him around acting he was on a game show, playing along as if we wanted to eventually kiss him."

"Oh yeah, now I do!" said May.

"The best part was when our men came and scared us away!" yelled Marie laughing.

"I didn't even know that was Ed until I was halfway out of the junkyard!" said May laughing, "We could have caught them and got ourselves free kisses!"

Both girls giggled.

"You know what scares me May." said Marie.

"What?" asked May.

"If Lee had had enough guts to do that with Eddy's brother, how many other guys did she attempt to get herself involved with?" asked a saddened Marie.

"I wish we could help her out." said May, "And stop her from doing that."

"She really needs to talk to someone." said Marie, "Mom never even paid it no mind, and even though she was pissed at Dennis, spit in his face, and threw him out after that, she never tried to talk to Lee about it."

Marie paused.

"And she said that Daddy and Linda sat her down and tried to talk to her about it, but she couldn't bring herself to." said Marie. "Lee is a smart and clever girl, she just has so much anger inside of her and frustration from that freakin' creep doing that to her. She could really be a good person if she had the chance."

The two girls sat in silence for a few seconds watching television. Marie got an idea and broke the silence.

"Come on upstairs, we got work to do." said Marie, as she got off of the couch and grabbed her little sisters hand.

"What do you mean?" asked May

"I'm gonna give you a makeover, a real one this time, not like that one we did as a prank last summer, what do ya say?" asked Marie as she smiled at her sister. She glanced down at her hand and saw May's red fingernails grip her hand back. May stood up off of the couch.

"But Double Dee's coming over tonight isn't he?" asked May.

"Yeah, he's coming over at seven, we have enough time to do it." said Marie.

The two girls headed upstairs into the bedroom.

"When we're done, Edward Fullerton is gonna be begging you to be his girlfriend." Marie said playfully as May smiled.

"Okay," said May, "You can make me over, but I get to do your hair and pick out your clothes for Double Dee tonight okay?"

"Deal!" said Marie, "We'll do each other." She slapped her sister five. The two girls stared at each other contemplating their hands slapping each other, before they both figured out a more sisterly way of showing their gratitude toward each other. Marie held out her arms and embraced her little sister, who in turn embraced her back.

"I love ya May." said Marie to her little sister.

"Love ya too sis." said May as she smiled, "Come on, we can't spend too much time on me, you gotta look nice for Double Dee!" said May playfully.

The girls spent the next few hours styling each other's hair, picking out clothes, and applying makeup, as Marie talked about Double Dee and how excited she was to see him. In turn the girls discussed ways that May would be able to break the ice with her Ed and talk to him on good terms.

Marie could still not believe that May had just admitted that she harbored personal feeling for Ed just as she had Double Dee. Although May's affections were heartfelt, Marie humorously wondered to herself if May would enjoy the stench of Ed's armpits that stunk enough for Marie to almost gag the night she silenced him from calling Eddy after dinner with her boyfriend's parents. Then again, the girl did collect old smelly meat covered wishbones for some reason, and as Double Dee pointed out it was something that Ed would do. May was right, her and Ed really were similar to each other.

Aside of thinking about the bonding she had just taken part in with her little sister, Marie thought about the prospect of seeing her Double Dee once again. Before the girls knew it they had lost track of time. The girls stared at each other and giggled as the "shave and a hair cut" rhythm knock sounded from the front door.


	38. Chapter 38

**Chapter 38**

Double Dee walked through the dark trailer park towards the familiar 60's era caravan that served as the living space for his beautiful girlfriend. His heart was racing once again, not out of nervousness, but in anticipation of seeing Marie once again.

Double Dee's afternoon helping his friends with their homework did not go as well as he had hoped. Once the boys entered Eddy's room, Eddy completely forgot about his paper and decided to spend time between watching television and asking Double Dee and Ed to judge the girls from the magazine that he was reading. Double Dee and Ed paid him no mind while they sat at Eddy's dresser, using it as a makeshift desk. As much as Double Dee attempted to tutor Ed, he simply did not get the material. Eventually, Double Dee did the only thing he could do, correct Ed's paper as he had done with Rolfs and hope that Ed understood all of the corrections.

Double Dee had decided on a change of pace. He had had his shower, and applied his usual cologne. Over his blue buttoned shirt, he decided to wear a leather jacket that his father used to wear in high school. He also donned a pair of blue jeans, and his usual sneakers.

He stepped up onto the metal step of the trailer and knocked on the door in his usual pattern. He once again heard loud footsteps running down the stairs of the trailer. The footsteps stopped in front of the front door, at which point he heard giggles and whispers.

"How's my hair?" whispered Marie.

"It's pretty." replied May.

"What about my makeup?" whispered a panicked Marie.

"You look beautiful Marie calm down!" said May slightly louder, "Go ahead let him in."

Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle at the girls little argument. The inner door to the trailer began opening. Marie appeared and began opening the screen door for Double Dee.

"Hey cutie, come on in!" said a smiling and excited Marie.

"Greetings Marie." Said Double Dee as he stood outside the trailer struck by Marie's beauty. She was once again wearing the flower beret that she wore the first time they met, as well as the first time they declared themselves a couple. She was wearing a black form fitting shirt that really showed off her curves, and slightly exposed her midsection between the blue knee-length skirt that she was wearing. Underneath the skirt, she wore grey leggings and on her feet were a pair of black winter boots. She looked absolutely stunning to Double Dee.

"Are you just gonna stand out there in the cold of are you gonna come in and spend some time with me Oven Mitt," said Marie as she chuckled.

Double Dee smiled as he walked into the trailer.

Marie closed the door behind Double Dee and walked over to the couch to sit down. She patted the cushion next to her.

"Take of your jacket and come sit with me." she said smiling as she did so.

Double Dee took off his coat and walked over to the couch. He then sat down next to Marie.

"Hey May, can you please bring me a soda, and some water for Double Dee!" yelled Marie.

"Sure!" said May from the kitchen.

Even though Double Dee knew that Marie was a kind hearted and polite girl, he couldn't help but be surprised that Marie had used the word 'please' when asking a favor from her sister. The two girls really must have talked and become closer to each other.

As Double Dee thought about Marie and Mays growing sisterly bond, checked his girlfriend out once again. He couldn't help but notice in the brighter light that she was wearing the necklace that he had given her on Friday, with the word 'Annemarie' in gold letters hanging from the chain. In addition tshe was wearing the Crankshaft #5 perfume that he had made her.

"Marie, you look absolutely stunning this evening." said Double Dee as he placed his hand on hers, taking notice of her pink fingernails.

"Thank you Double Dee," said Marie as she looked at Double Dee, "You looked sexy in that leather jacket you were wearing."

Marie giggled as Double Dee blushed.

"And that blue shirt really brings out those gorgeous eyes of yours." said Marie.

The couple sat smiling with each other, at which point May entered the living room. May was wearing a pink knee length dress, complete with a sky blue belt around her waist. In fact, the dress she was wearing was the same exact dress from the day that the Kankers forced the Ed's to marry them in their Poppy's house. Her blonde hair was no longer straight; Marie had curled it to give it an appearance similar to their mother's hair.

"Hiya Double Dee!" yelled an excited May as she handed Marie her soda can, and Double Dee a glass of water.

"Hello May, thank you very much for the refreshment!" said Double Dee.

"Anytime." said May as she smiled and walked towards the television. She grabbed the TV guide off of the top of it and sat down next to Double Dee on the remaining couch cushion, going through the book.

"Anything good on tonight?" asked Marie.

"Hmm, let's see…" said May, "Ooooh Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is on at 7:30!"

"Oh come on May!" said Marie, "I liked it the first time I saw it but not the 100th! Give me that!"

Double Dee chuckled, thinking about how his friend Ed would have had similar ideas about his favorite movies. Double Dee had practically memorized some of them just from watching them so much.

Marie yanked the TV guide out of Mays hands and began paging through it herself.

"HEY!" yelled May, "I was lookin at that!"

Double Dee found himself caught between the two fighting sisters on the couch, having no idea what to do. The politeness between the two sisters had vanished, and they were once again engaging in a humorous brawl. Although Double Dee knew that the sisters were closer than they were before, he remembered how he would fight with James over pointless matters such as control of the television, and concluded that it is just part of having a sibling. Even though he made this realization, he felt slightly saddened that some of the little time that he had with his brother was spent in pointless arguments.

May eventually wrestled the TV guide out of Maries hands and began looking through it once again, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

"I hope you know that you're in a relationship with a control freak Double Dee!" said May playfully.

"Shut up May, just pick something will ya!" said Marie jokingly.

May stood up off of the couch and began scanning through the channels. After concluding that absolutely nothing was on television, May switched it off and walked out into the kitchen.

"I'm gonna get some chips and dip." said May as she left the room.

"Okay," yelled Marie. As soon as May entered the kitchen Marie turned to Double Dee and smiled as she put her arms around his neck.

"Sorry Double Dee," said Marie, "You weren't meant to be in the middle of that scuffle. It's a sister thing ya know?"

"It's quite alright." said Double Dee, "I am quite aware that sibling can be quite the handful sometimes. James and I would quarrel over simple matters all of the time. And don't even get me started on Ed and Sarah's relationship."

Marie remembered something at the mention of Ed's name

"Oh that reminds me," said Marie as she leaned into Double Dee's ear, "I have something to tell you. It just so happens that May really li…"

"I'm back!" yelled May's obnoxious voice as she returned from the kitchen carrying a bag of tortilla chips and a bowl of salsa.

"I'll tell you later!" said Marie as she winked.

May put the bowl of salsa and bag of chips on the coffee table in front of the couch .She promptly began eating the chips, crunching loudly, and annoying Marie once again. Double Dee placed his arm around Marie and pulled her closer to him. Marie responded by placing her head on his shoulder.

"Hey, I got an idea!" yelled May.

"What's your idea?" said Marie, clasping Double Dees hand.

"Since there's nothing on TV, why don't I get some more of the home movies so that we have at least something to watch?" said May while giggling.

"NO." said Marie sarcastically.

"Come on." said May as she turned to Double Dee, "Double Dee, would you like to see Marie at her First Communion?"

"I would like nothing more." said Double Dee smiling as Marie blushed.

"Okay May, go get them!" said a less than enthusiastic Marie.

"Great!" said May, "I'll be right back"

May giggled and ran up the stairs to the bedroom to get the tapes. Marie turned to Double Dee.

"Well love, it looks like you're gonna be seeing more of me as a little girl!" said Marie as she giggled and blushed slightly.

"I quite enjoy viewing your home movies Marie!" said Double Dee.

Marie looked up at Double Dee and smiled.

"Double Dee, are you religious?" asked Marie.

Double Dee paused for a moment.

"To be completely honest, I was not raised with a religion. Mother and Father are devout atheists and do not believe in organized religious groups. However, although I view science and reason as the ultimate driving force for the events that occur in this universe, I do believe that everyone has a destiny predetermined for them at birth." said Double Dee.

"You know what Double Dee," said Marie, "That is exactly how I feel. All things happen for a reason."

Marie smiled at Double Dee as she continued.

"But I was brought up Roman Catholic," said Marie, "Poppy took us all to church every Sunday, and he was a devout catholic himself. We each had our first Communion. In fact, May is probably gonna be coming down with pictures of all of our Communions and most likely the video my Dad took of mine."

Marie paused.

"Although we each received Communion, my Poppy died shortly after May had hers, and we eventually stopped attending church. May is the only one who received her Confirmation, per my Dad since he's Catholic as well. My mom didn't want me and Lee to do it for some reason. It's hard for me to go to church anyway, since my Poppy made it such a fixture in our lives, it's one of those things that reminds me of him a whole lot."

Double Dee squeezed Maries shoulder with his arm as Marie cracked a smile at him.

"Besides, who knows how many sins I have committed since I stopped going. If I went back I'd have to sit in the confession box for a few hours!"

Marie and Double Dee shared a laugh. At that moment May yelled down the stairs.

"Marie! Do you know where the box with those pictures is?" yelled May.

"I think it's next to the box with all of Poppy's Vietnam stuff!" yelled Marie.

May returned to searching the closet for pictures while Marie turned back to Double Dee.

"Pardon my questioning, but did I just hear that your grandfather was involved with the Vietnam War?" asked Double Dee.

"Yes he was," said Marie, "my Dad told us that he was drafted into the Marines 1969, a few months after he met my grandmother. Poppy never told us directly about his war experiences, most likely because we were young at the time, but my Dad told us that one day he was patrolling with his platoon when he suddenly heard a sound similar to a blast of dynamite. Long story short, my Poppy suddenly found himself in full blown combat."

"Marie I'm speechless," said Double Dee, "I can't imagine being in that predicament!"

"I know it's scary." said Marie, "He told us that my Poppy's lieutenant ordered the platoon to retreat because they were outnumbered. As they made their escape, a bullet hit him in the shoulder."

"My goodness!" said Double Dee.

"Thankfully, one of his men helped to carry him out of the battle." said Marie, "They took him back to the barracks and removed the bullet. He was medically discharged shortly after, and he received a purple heart for being injured."

Marie paused.

"He then came back home and married my Mom Mom. Even though they removed the bullet, he constantly had problems with his right arm, especially his rotator cuff."

"That's terrible" said Double Dee, "My uncle suffered an injury to his rotator cuff and required a few high risk surgeries to totally repair the damage."

"Yeah, that's what happened with Poppy, although they weren't able to fully repair it. They didn't want to risk destroying what little movement he had left from his shoulder."

Marie paused before she smiled at her boyfriend.

"The funny thing is I absolutely cannot see him shooting a gun at someone with the intent to kill them." said Marie, "He was such a nice and kind hearted man, he wouldn't have hurt a fly."

Marie and Double Dee laughed.

"My Dad was a marine as well," said Marie, "But he was never involved in any war or combat like my poppy was. I can remember them two greeting each other. My Poppy would say "Semper Fi", and my Dad would reply with 'Do or Die' while they shook hands."

As Double Dee and Marie continued to converse, May finally descended the stairs with a large box of pictures and a video cassette.

"I'm back!" yelled May as she placed the box on the floor and opened it.

"What took ya so long?" yelled Marie playfully.

"I had to move all of Lee's junk that she threw all over the bottom of the closet." yelled May as she pulled a pile of pictures out of the box, "Here ya go Double Dee, take a look at your girlfriend when she was little."

Double Dee held the pile of pictures in his hand and began looking through them. In the first picture, a young Marie stood in front of a brick wall alone. She appeared to be around 8 years old in the photograph. Her black hair which would have hung past her shoulders if it was allowed to, was styled up in a bun. A floral crown surrounded her hair, and a white veil hung behind her head. Young Marie stood with her hands in front of her, grasping a flower. Her dress had two straps that passed around the side of her shoulders, and the dress extended down to her feet. There was a peach colored wrapping around the dress by her waist, which was accented by a synthetic flower. Marie was smiling from ear to ear in the photograph.

"That's me!" said Marie with a grin on her face.

Double Dee chuckled as he went to the next picture, which consisted of Marie once again, only this time, Poppy was standing next to her smiling with his arm on her shoulder. He was wearing a black three piece suit.

"He looks so proud doesn't he Marie!" said May as she looked at the picture.

"Yes he does." said Marie.

Double Dee went to the next photograph. This time, Tabitha was kneeling next to her daughter, wearing a pink colored dress and open toed high heeled shoes. She had her arm around Marie and was smiling alongside her daughter. Double Dee noticed that she had not yet gained weight in the photograph, and that the "Laugh now, cry later" and ballet shoe tattoos were missing from her arms.

Double Dee flipped once again to the next picture. In this one, Rod was standing alongside Marie in a three piece suit with his arm on her shoulder. A short, blonde haired woman stood on her other side. The woman was quite petite, and her blonde hair hung to her shoulders. She was wearing a peach colored dress, in addition to black high heeled shoes.

"That's Linda, my Dad's girlfriend." said Marie as she pointed to the woman.

"Yeah, you'll meet her tomorrow." said May, "She's really nice."

Double Dee smiled as he reached the last picture. In this photograph, Marie stood smiling in between a young May and Lee, both wearing pink frilly dresses and Mary Jane shoes with white stockings. All three girls were smiling at the camera. Lee's red curls dangled to her shoulders, and for the first time Double Dee caught a full glimpse of her blue eyes. Her eyes were a spitting image of Marie's, aside from the color. Nothing had appeared to change about May's look, other than her looking much younger in the photograph.

"So Lee has blue eyes as well." said Double Dee chuckling.

"Yep," said Marie, "I'm the only one with green eyes in the family. I guess I got Bubba's eyes."

The two sisters laughed with Double Dee.

"I must say you were quite the adorable little girl Marie." said Double Dee, "And that little girl became the most beautiful young woman I have ever laid eyes on."

Marie smiled and blushed at Double Dee's statement. May couldn't help but smile for her sister at Double Dees display of romanticism as well. She quickly cracked a joke to break the silence.

"Alright love birds." said May, "Let's watch the video."

May placed the VHS tape into the VCR and, as always, May was forced to remove it and rewind it before it worked. The video flickered and the sounds of Poppy and Tabitha's voice came from behind the camera, which was facing the back of a church pew. They're voices indicated that Poppy was asking Tabitha how to work the camera not knowing that it was recording. The camera was soon jarred and the video went blank.

"Our family sure did make that mistake a lot with the cameras didn't they?" said Marie, prompting chuckles from her sister and Double Dee.

The video soon flickered to life once again. The sound of a pipe organ played as several little girls and boys walked down the aisle of a large church toward the alter. Eventually, young Marie filed in walking slowly past her family while staring into the camera. The camera, controlled by Rod panned to follow his daughter as she walked down the aisle. As soon as the last child entered, the priest followed the procession and took his place at the front of the church to begin the sermon.

"That's Father Sevino!" said May, "I remember him."

"Yeah, he was a really nice guy." said Marie as she turned to Double Dee, "He was always helping people and going out of his way to make sure people were happy. He would spend time talking to us about school, and other things that happened in our lives. His words even helped me make peace with a lot of the teasing I had in school, and he really helped us all push on during those hard times. It is a shame that we lost touch after we stopped going to church. He was really a great friend."

"He sounds like a great man." said Double Dee smiling at his girlfriend.

As Double Dee watched the remainder of the ceremony, he couldn't help but think about how much he had learned about the Kanker family since he had began his relationship with Marie. The three evil girls who he thought were complete monsters when he first met them were nothing more than normal everyday young women deep down inside. Watching these home movies allowed him more insight into the "normalcy" of their lives, even more so than Marie had already showed him during their time alone.

After around 30 minutes, the video ended and May ejected the tape. She placed all of the pictures and the video back in the box and picked it up off of the floor.

"I'm going to go up and put this back." said May, she turned towards Double Dee and Marie and winked, "I might take an EXTREMELY long time because I have to move all of Lee's things. Plus I want to look through some more pictures for myself. Feel free to have fun in whatever way you want. I hope you don't mind."

May giggled as Marie grinned at her sister. Double Dee was blushing.

"That's fine May." said Marie giggling, "You better go while the night is young."

May began making her way upstairs before turning around and saying the final words that she couldn't resist saying.

"Have fun you two!" she yelled.

"Get outta here!" yelled Marie playfully as she held her fist up to May. May giggled and ran up the stairs and closed the door to the bedroom.

Marie wasted no time and grabbed Double Dees face. She pulled him into a kiss and began making out with him once again. After about 3 minutes, Marie pulled away from him.

"Oh I almost forgot to tell you what I was going to tell you earlier." said Marie.

"What is it Marie?" said Double Dee.

"Well me and May were talking earlier, and you'll never believe what she admitted." said Marie.

Marie paused before continuing.

"May admitted to me that she really likes Ed for who he is and not just because he's 'one of the guys'" said Marie.

Double Dee was surprised.

"So what you are saying is that May's aggressive behavior toward Ed was nothing more than a charade to cover up her emotions as well?" said Double Dee.

Marie shook her head up and down as she told Double Dee how May felt a connection to Ed due to his friendly nature and how if she showed who she really was, he would probably at least want to be her friend.

"I wholeheartedly agree with you Marie." said Double Dee, "I highly doubt that Ed truly hates May. The idea of Ed hating someone seems utterly absurd. He is just confused and bewildered by her wild displays of affections, just as I was before I was able to get to know the real you."

"I told her to let loose, be brave and try to talk to him on good terms." said Marie, "After all, no offense but they share similar disgusting interests."

"I concur Marie!" said Double Dee as the couple shared a laugh at their last statement.

"You know what else I told her?" said Marie snickering, "I told her that you Ed's are suckers for bad girls with big hearts, so if she opened herself up to him, she'd have herself her first boyfriend!"

Double Dee laughed

"I must admit that your "adventurous" side has grown on me, and I'm really beginning to enjoy it." said Double Dee.

At this point, Double Dee received another one of Marie's amorous grins. He chuckled as he knew he had just paved the way for Marie to initiate what she called "physical love"

"You like it huh?" said Marie as she twirled her hair.

"Well..we…I .um" Double Dee choked on his words while he blushed heavily. Marie climbed onto his lap and put her arms around his neck.

"Then let's continue where we left off." said Marie in a sexy voice as she pressed her lips back into Double Dees. She kissed him for a minute before pulling away to say some important words.

"I love you Double Dee," said Marie smiling into her boyfriends eyes.

"I love you too Marie." said Double Dee.

Double Dee was barely able to get the word "Marie" out of his mouth before Marie retouched her lips to his.

The couple spent the next hour expressing their love physically. Double Dee found himself laying down on his back on the couch, while Marie laid herself down on top of him.. Eventually, the heat of the moment got the best of Marie. Her right hand began to glide down Double Dees chest and happened to wander into places that it has never dared to venture to before. Even though her hand only felt the texture of jeans as it traversed back and forth across the fabric, it was enough for Double Dee to eventually be able to achieve the same feeling that he had grown to love in the last couple weeks with Marie. Although he was extremely nervous and anxious when Marie first began the act, he quickly loosened up when his hormones took control once again.

Marie giggled at Double Dee's quick breaths and she pulled her hand away.

Once Double Dee regained his breath, his red cheeks looked into Marie's grinning face.

"Now was that 'adventurous' enough for ya!" said Marie as she laughed and hugged her boyfriend.

"That was quite enough adventure for me." said Double Dee before cracking a joke, "Now I have to go home and wash yet another piece of clothing that you have caused my natural human reflexes to tarnish."

Marie slapped Double Dee in the arm.

"Excuse me?" she said while smiling, "I didn't see you complaining, while you were laying there enjoying every minute of it!"

Double Dee blushed slightly as Marie gave him a hug.

"You are so cute with that nervous blush that you get." said Marie as she kissed Double Dee on the cheek.

Double Dee smiled as he embraced his girlfriend back.

Marie glanced at the clock and alerted Double Dee that it was 10:00. By this time he would have usually been in his bed sleeping for school the next day. The couple decided that it was time to say goodbye once again.

"Well, I suppose it's time for me to head home." said Double Dee as he stood up.

"Yeah, I wish you could stay over and sleep with me so that you could keep me warm." said Marie.

"I would really enjoy that as well." said Double Dee.

"I can't wait to see you tomorrow, we're gonna have so much fun ice skating." said Marie, "I can't wait to get my cutie out on that ice."

Marie grabbed Double Dees cheeks and pinched them playfully.

"I really hope you don't mind." said Marie, "But we're going back to my Dad's house for a little bit afterwards. He asked if you wanted to come too. If you don't want to go, I can have him drop you off at your place before we go."

"I would love to accompany you back to his house." said Double Dee, "Anything to spend more time with you."

Marie smiled at Double Dees statement.

As the couple walked toward the trailer door, Double Dee thought about the circumstances he was faced with tomorrow night. One of his greatest fears about having a girlfriend was meeting her father, and hoping that he was manly enough and accepted in his eyes. True, he wouldn't be meeting Marie's biological father, but as far as Double Dee was concerned, Rod WAS Marie's father, as he was man enough to give Lee and Marie the same exact treatment as his biological daughter.

That being said he was quite nervous, and it was beginning to show in the form of sweating. Marie took notice.

"What's the matter cutie?" asked Marie as she put her arms around Double Dee making a pouty face.

Double Dee wanted to be completely honest with Marie.

"Well, Marie to be perfectly honest, one of my fears about having a girlfriend is not living up to the expectations that her father would want me to live up to as a fellow man. I must admit that I am quite nervous about meeting your father for the first time. I can only hope th…"

Marie silenced Double Dee with her hand while smiling once again.

"Cutie," said Marie, "You over think things too much and make yourself nervous, calm down. My Dad's really nice guy, and he really doesn't say much anyway. He's gonna like you I just know he is."

Marie smiled at Double Dee before she continued

"Besides, it's Linda your probably going to be talking to the whole car ride. She's a really friendly and bubbly person. But she's nice, much like you, so I wouldn't be nervous at all okay?" said Marie.

Double Dee was slightly reassured by Marie and smiled back at her.

"Oh and don't forget gloves it's going to be cold on the ice!" said Marie as she smiled.

"Don't worry, I won't forget Angel" said Double Dee.

Marie pecked Double Dee on the lips. She pulled away and yelled up the stairs.

"MAY! Double Dees leaving!" yelled Marie

May opened the door and ran down the stairs to see Double Dee off.

"Bye Double Dee," said May, Double Dee was surprised when May reached out her arms and gave him a friendly hug. Although he was surprised to be hugging someone other than Marie for once, he knew the gesture was meant to be kind hearted and returned the friendly hug.

"Hey, before you go." said May, "I have to thank you for sending that Shepherds Pie stuff home with Marie. That was good, when are you making it again?"

"You're very welcome May." said Double Dee, "I will be sure to send some more the next time my mother decides to make it."

"We ate that down!" said Marie, "Even mom too!"

The group of three laughed before Double Dee and Marie made their way out the door. Even though Marie closed the door slightly behind her, May couldn't help but peek through the crack and watch her sister and her boyfriend share a passionate kiss and exchange their I love yous. As Double Dee began his walk back to his house, Marie reentered the door and closed it behind her. She turned around to look her sister in the face. As soon as the girls met eyes they jumped around in each other's arms excited, before running upstairs with the idea that Marie would tell May about her night.

As Double Dee climbed into his bed, he decided to wait to scrub his jeans and undergarments until the sun rose the next morning. As he lied in bed, he couldn't help but still feel slightly nervous about meeting Rod. Sleep came to him shortly however, as his thoughts of being with Marie quelled what little nervousness he did have.


	39. Chapter 39

**Chapter 39**

It was around 5:45 p.m, Tuesday night. The sun had just begun to set over the cul-de-sac, and as Eddy and the rest of the boys were hanging out in Ed's room, Double Dee was nervously preparing himself for his night out at the ice rink with Marie.

Although Marie had once again assured him that all would be alright at lunch time in school, Double Dee was still literally sweating bullets. He had to change out of two sweaters due to his profuse sweating, but finally was able to quell it by the time he reached his green turtle neck. His orange gloves and thick orange winter coat were sitting on his bed, as he applied his cologne, and otherwise made himself look presentable.

Just then, the sound of the doorbell filled his house once again. At the sound of the chimes, Double Dee felt a rush of nervousness flow through him, and he once again was at the mercy of his pores. Although he felt like he had just dropped from the tallest roller coaster on Earth, he made final adjustments to his shirt, grabbed his gloves and coat, and began walking down his red carpeted stairs.

Double Dee breathed heavily as he opened the door. His nervousness went disappeared when he laid his eyes on his beautiful girlfriend. Her black hair was adorned with a green headband that matched her eyes. She was wearing a set of grey earmuffs, obviously for her ears when she was on the ice. She wore a red scarf around her neck, as well as a grey sweater. She looked fantastic.

"Hi Double Dee!" said Marie smiling excitedly.

"Hello Marie, you look amazing as always!" replied Double Dee.

The couple exchanged compliments, as well as a hug, after which Lee's voice carried itself from behind Marie.

"Yo lovebirds, come on let's go, we ain't got all night!" yelled Lee playfully as she laughed.

Double Dee was so captivated by Marie that he had almost forgotten about their little excursion to the ice rink. He glanced behind his girlfriend to see Lee leaning out of the back door of a mid 2000's Ford 350 crew cab pickup truck. It was red in color, and appeared to be relatively new; Rod had gotten a new truck, since the older 80's brown Chevy he used to drive was going to need body work, taillights, and a transmission. There were several racks in the rear bed, carrying various ladders and other construction equipment.

Double Dee's cheeks filled with heat, as he was nervous beyond belief.

"Come on cutie," said Marie, "Let's go!"

Marie grabbed Double Dee and began leading him down the gravel path of his lawn towards Rod's truck.

Marie opened the back door to the truck. Lee had already taken the far right rear seat, so Marie decided to take the middle seat and give Double Dee the left seat. He closed the door to the truck behind him and glanced towards the front of the vehicle.

May was sitting in the front middle seat; on her left behind the steering wheel was a man with what would be commonly called a "high and tight" hair cut as well as a blonde moustache over his lips. To May's right was a woman that Double Dee recognized from the pictures that Marie had showed him; Linda had not changed one bit.

"Daddy, Linda," said Marie, "This is my boyfriend Edd."

Linda wasted no time and turned around to Double Dee with a smile. She stuck her hand out to Double Dee for a handshake, greeting him enthusiastically as she did so. At that moment, Rod turned around with smile on his face as well, and reached his hand back to shake Double Dee's hand, accidentally bumping May's head with his elbow by mistake while doing so.

"It is a p..pleasure..to meet you Mr. Lonergan!" said Double Dee

As with Tabby, Rod and Linda both asked to be called by their first names, slightly easing Double Dee's mind. Marie gripped Double Dees hand in hers and smiled at him, as if to alert him that he worried all for nothing.

Instead of driving down the street and turning around in the cul-de-sac most of the adults did, Rod used a quicker alternative. He shifted his truck into reverse and quickly backed it up out of the cul-de-sac while turning left onto the cross street. He shifted the truck into drive using the column mounted shifter, even though it was still traveling slowly in reverse while he did so. Before they knew it, the group was headed towards the edge of town as Dr. Feelgood by Motley Crue played over the trucks speakers.

In the truck, Rod began making jokes about how he was glad that he could finally have another "Y chromosome" joining him on the trip, and how he has to put up with four females all of the time. Double Dee chuckled with him as he made his jokes, as did his daughters. Linda however, was turned around in her seat talking to Double Dee for practically the whole drive, asking him various questions about school, his interests and even how he met Marie. Of course, Lee and May chimed in and essentially told the story in their own words, slightly embarrassing their sister. It was the first time that Rod and Linda had seen Marie since she re-dyed her hair back to her natural black. They both agreed that "They were glad to have their Annemarie back again." causing chuckling amongst everyone.

After around a half hour of driving, conversing, and some embarrassing yet funny stories about Marie as a little girl, Rod had finally pulled his truck into the parking lot of the ice rink. Everyone got out of the truck and began walking towards the arena, with Marie and Double Dee holding hands the whole way.

When they reached the arena, Rod led everyone over to his co-worker Patrick, who was the new Bulldozer operator for his company. He quickly introduced everyone to him, including Double Dee as "Annemarie's boyfriend". After some small talk, Marie grabbed Double Dees hand and pulled him over to the skate rental booth.

"See cutie," said Marie after she asked the worker for her and Double Dee's skates, "All of that worrying for nothing, they practically fell in love with ya!"

"I must admit, that I am quite relieved." said Double Dee as he took his pair of skates and followed Marie to a bench. He sat down and began sliding the skates on.

At this point, Double Dees mind was no longer fearful of Rod's reaction to him. His main fear right now was making a fool of himself out on the ice rink. He decided to be completely honest with Marie.

"Marie, I must admit that I have absolutely no experience with roller skating, let alone ice skating!" said Double Dee.

"Don't worry." said Marie, "It's easy, just hold my hand and you'll be fine!"

Double Dee and Marie finished putting their skates on and stood up off of the bench, heading towards the rink. Double Dee could barely walk on the metal blades of his skates.

"Are you okay?" asked Marie giggling, watching her boyfriend almost trip. She quickly grabbed his hand and helped him walk.

"I can barely walk in these Marie, and I am sure that I will make a complete fool of myself out there on the ice. Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked a nervous Double Dee.

"Double Dee, I could barely walk in skates the first time I did it!" said Marie as she smiled at her boyfriend, "Besides, remember what you said to me when I didn't know how to use the computer, just because you have never done something before, doesn't mean that you'll look like a fool!"

Marie was right, and Double Dee couldn't help but smile at her.

"Come on cutie, let's get you out there, May and Lee are already at the door." said Marie.

The couple walked across the carpeted floor and through the door that led to the outdoor ice rink. The ice rink was large, and was flooded with light by several spot lights located around its perimeter. The theme of this particular ice rink was retro 1960's, and the house speakers were currently playing "_Bristol Stomp_" by the Dovells. There were many couples and children skating around in a clockwise direction. Lee and May were already standing at the entrance to the rink, and Double Dee and Marie rushed to join them.

"Outta our way girls." said a playful Marie, pushing her sisters away from the door, "Are ya comin or no?"

"Hold your horses!" said Lee, "I'm just fixin' my glove."

Lee glanced around the rink for a little while, when her eyes set themselves on one of the male college-aged officials that monitored the skater's safety.

"Mmhm, now that's a hunk of a man!" said Lee, while grinning, "I'll see ya later girls, something just came up!"

Lee jumped onto the ice and skated into the crowd.

"Well now that Lee's found herself something to do, I guess it's just us three!" said May while laughing.

May pushed herself out onto the ice, and began sliding slowly.

"Come on Double Dee!" said Marie as she stepped out onto the ice, holding the side barrier, "Hold the wall for the first few minutes while you get your balance and step out onto the ice."

Double Dee gripped the wall tightly, and he stepped out into the ice. He couldn't believe how smooth the ice actually felt under his feet, and how much more difficult than roller skating it really was. After a while, Double Dee got used to the feel of the skates, and traded the wall for Marie's hand.

"May, can you get his other hand." said Marie.

May grabbed Double Dees other hand and before he knew it, he found himself gliding around the rink at moderate speed with the two girls holding him up.

"See, now you're getting it." said Marie as she smiled, "Now we're gonna let go okay?"

"What!" yelled Double Dee.

Before he could protest, the two girls let go of his hands and he found himself gliding across the rink with perfect balance.

"WHOOO!" yelled Marie, "Go Double Dee!"

Double Dee turned around to smile at his girlfriend, neglecting that the rink was elliptical in shape and that there was bound to be a point at which he had to turn.

"DOUBLE DEE WATCH OUT!" yelled Marie as she pointed behind him.

Double Dee had no time to react; as soon as he turned back around, he collided with the wall of the ice rink. The resulting collision caused him to fall onto the ice, hitting the side of his arm. The pain of falling on ice was much greater than landing on concrete, and Double Dee was sure feeling it radiating through his elbow. Marie and May skated over to him.

"Double Dee, are you okay!" yelled Marie. May was trying as hard as she could not to laugh. "Come on, let's get you up!"

Marie and May worked together to help him up off of the ice. Once he was up, Double Dee braced himself on the wall for a few minutes. He looked into his girlfriends eyes and couldn't help but begin chuckling. Double Dee was now comfortable around Marie not to be embarrassed about his blunder, and was able to share a laugh with her and May. At that moment, Lee skated up to the group.

"Yo girls, your doin it all wrong!" yelled Lee, "He's not supposed to crash into the wall!"

"We know that ding bat!" yelled a laughing Marie, "He just got a little confused."

"Well teach him already so that he can skate around with us!" yelled Lee as she once again began skating around the rink.

"Alright, are you ready to try again?" asked Marie.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," said Double Dee nervously. His legs were currently trembling.

Double Dee once again found himself in between his girlfriend and her sister as they led him around the rink. After around 10 minutes, Double Dee began to catch on to how to propel himself, and began skating around the rink on his own, with the two sisters by his side.

"Look at that," said Marie, "You're a natural."

"I suppose I am!" said Double Dee as he smiled at Marie.

"Now try this!" said Marie,

Marie suddenly increased her speed for a split second, before sliding into a spin. Marie flawlessly executed what would commonly be called a Pirouette of around 8 rotations in figure skating terms, before she lost momentum and returned to regular skating. Double Dee was stunned by Marie's display of athleticism.

"Oh Marie, that was nothing!" yelled May, "Watch this!"

May slid on the ice before jumping and performing a maneuver that is known as a Fouette. She successfully landed and skated backwards towards Marie's position while sticking her tongue out at her sister.

"Marie, I am speechless!" said Double Dee, "That was absolutely amazing, I have never known you two girls to be figure skaters."

"We practiced the moves on our kitchen floor." said Marie, "In our socks, the floor is almost as slippery as ice!"

Marie chuckled.

"After we mastered them without skates did the best we could to master them on the ice whenever we got the chance" said Marie. She paused and glanced over at May.

"I guess we got a little bit of Mom's dancing blood in us!" said Marie as she and May giggled.

"Well you have certainly proved your confidence with the sport!" said an excited Double Dee.

"If you think that was good, you should see Lee!" yelled Marie.

"Yeah!" said May, "She can land axel jumps!"

Double Dee smiled as he listened to the two sister's talk about figure skating and the maneuvers that they have practiced. He was captivated by Marie's beauty as she spun in her skates on the ice. Everything that Marie did seemed to put a smile on his face.

The couple skated around the rink for a few more minutes. Double Dee had finally become competent enough with the skates to be able to keep up with Marie at a decent speed. Marie grabbed his hand and attempted a laced finger hold; unfortunately, the thickness of their gloves forced them to resort to a traditional grip. The music had changed, and at this moment Bye Bye Love by the Everly Brothers was emanating from the PA system.

"I see you're really catching on." said Marie.

"Yes, I truly am!" said Double Dee, "This experience should also help me become slightly more competent with roller skates, as it's only a matter of time before Ed and Eddy force me to participate in another athletic endeavor."

Double Dee paused before looking into Marie's eyes as he continued

"I know it's strange, being a male and despising team sports" said Double Dee, slightly embarrassed.

Marie chuckled at Double Dee's joke.

"Double Dee," said Marie, "Being a man to me is being polite, kind, courteous, and romantic."

Marie skated in front of Double Dee and turned around so that she was traveling backwards. She grabbed both of his hands in hers and leaned into his face.

"And you are all four of those things ten times over." said Marie.

Marie leaned in and pecked Double Dee's lips quickly while giggling, before returning to his side, holding his hand.

"Just out of curiosity," said Marie, "I know that being athletic is not your strong point, but what makes you so fearful to even try playing any kind of sport?"

Double Dee was taken aback. He had just been posed with one of the two questions that he absolutely dreaded to be asked before he met Marie. The first was anything pertaining to the reason for him wearing his ski hat all of the time. The second was about his fear of sports. He had already trusted Marie enough to explain his scars to her, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he needed to explain his reason for despising sports. He decided to proceed

"It's quite an embarrassing story Marie." said Double Dee.

"I'm sorry," said Marie as she squeezed his hand, "You don't have to tell it if you don't want to."

"No Marie, I would like to tell you." said Double Dee.

Double Dee paused before he continued.

"I was around 10 years old. I had become best friends with Ed and Eddy at that point. Gym class used to be quite an invigorating time for us, as we were able to escape the confines of the classroom academics and be kids, so to speak."

Double Dee paused, as he continued skating.

"One day in gym class, the teacher decided that we were going to all participate in a game of dodge ball. Naturally everyone was excited. I was quite intrigued, even though I have never participated in a game of dodge ball prior to that day."

Double Dee paused. Marie moved in front of him and began skating backwards once again so that she could make eye contact with him.

"We were all shuttled outside to play, and our team took its place against one of the walls of the school. Due to my unathletic nature, I was naturally one of the first boys targeted on my team. Before I knew it, a large red dodge ball was careening towards my face."

Double Dee took a breath.

"The momentum caused me to spin around and fall towards the brick wall with my mouth wide open. When my face impacted the wall, the sheer force dislodged my maxillary central incisors, and caused them to be ripped right out of my mouth. The experience was excruciating, and I could barely even breathe without a wave of pain flowing through my upper jaw. The gym teacher stopped the game and took me to the school nurse to stop the profuse bleeding."

"Double Dee, that's terrible!" yelled Marie.

Double Dee paused as he stared at a shocked Marie. He opened to his mouth and pointed to the well known gap between his top front incisors.

"See this?" asked Double Dee, "The trauma to my deciduous teeth caused my permanent teeth to erupt abnormally, leaving me with this embarrassing gap. Thankfully, my dentist has told me that if my upper wisdom teeth erupt normally, they will work to push my two front teeth together Although that could take a few more years during which time I have to live with this horrible malformation."

Marie looked into Double Dees face as she smiled.

"Double Dee," said Marie, "I think it's cute. It's just one of those things that makes you who you are."

Double Dee blushed as he couldn't help but crack a smile.

"It was quite frightening," said Double Dee, "The "Dodge Ball Incident" as I call it, seemed to have imprinted a natural fear of contact sports into my mind."

At this point the deep voice of the DJ came over the PA system of the rink.

"Alright, is everyone having fun out there tonight!"

Everyone in the rink emitted an enthusiastic "Yes!"

Great to hear, at this point were gonna slow things down a little bit, and I want all of the happy couples young and old to join together in the rink for the couples skate."

Although the overall theme of the night was the 1960's, a somewhat cliché song, Careless Whisper by George Michael was chosen as the music for the couples skate.

"Well, cutie," said Marie, as she wrapped her arms around Double Dees right arm, making it appear as if he was "escorting" her, "I guess that applies to us."

Double Dee smiled as he and Marie, as well as many other husbands and wives, and other teenaged couples skated around the rink with them. After the couples skate, the DJ announced that there would be a quick break from skating so that the ice resurfacer could work on the ice. Double Dee and Marie exited the rink, and took a seat on one of the many benches. Lee and May quickly joined them.

"You guys looked so cute together!" said May.

"Yeah, I gotta admit that you picked the right man!" said Lee as she smiled at Double Dee. Marie blushed and smiled at her sisters compliments.

After a few minutes, the ice was finally resurfaced, and everyone was able to return to the ice to skate. Marie and Double Dee spent the remainder of their time together, shooting the breeze as they skated. May and Lee performed various figure skating maneuvers, and Double Dee was finally able to witness Lee's double axel jump; needless to say he was quite impressed. Marie joined in on the fun as well, using May as her partner and performing various duet maneuvers.

Double Dee couldn't believe that he was so nervous about coming to the ice rink with Marie. He was truly having a great time, and absolutely didn't want the night to end. After another hour and a half, the final song played over the PA, and the annual free skate night was over. Rod and Linda said their goodbyes to all of his co-workers and their families before walking back to his truck with their daughters and Double Dee. Double Dee could do nothing but smile as he entered Rods truck and took his seat next to Marie, as he had just had the best night of his life so far.


	40. Chapter 40

**Chapter 40**

After around twenty minutes of driving, Rod's truck had finally entered the city limits. Double Dee was astounded by how drastically different the city was than Peach Creek. The street they were traversing happened to be named "Market Street" as was the main business street in Peach Creek. However, the streets were completely dissimilar, the greatest difference being that the cities Market Street ran directly under the cities elevated train. The street was completely covered by the large blue trussle, and the booming sound of a train passing overhead filled the air every few minutes. The area was plagued by crime, and Double Dee couldn't help but notice many of the businesses lining the streets had steel bars placed over their windows as a measure to prevent theft.

After a few moments, Rod had finally turned onto a street labeled Kingsessing Avenue, which was lined with twin houses that were narrower than tall, each with a front porch. Rod stopped in front of a twin house with white vinyl siding. Above the roof of the front porch, two double hung windows peered out from the second floor bedroom; a large single double hung window marked the third floor front room, which functioned as the girl's bedroom when they stayed over.

Double Dee was treated to his first experience of parallel parking, as Rods house did not have a driveway. Once the truck was parked, the group exited the vehicle and approached the front porch.

"Welcome to the city!" said Marie, as she smiled at Double Dee.

The city was much different than the suburbs. There were far more houses, and the street lights seemed more plentiful. The peace and quiet that characterized Peach Creek estates was replaced by the distant sounds of ambulance sirens.

"Come on cutie!" yelled Marie as she pulled Double Dee up the porch steps, "Let's get out of this cold air!"

Just as Rod had unlocked the front door to his house, the door on the house next door opened. An elderly woman, who appeared to be a septuagenarian emerged from the door as a small black and white cat ran quickly out to the front porch.

The elderly woman enthusiastically greeted Marie, and opened her arms for Marie to give her a hug. Lee and May also hugged the woman before heading into Rod's house to escape the cold air.

"Double Dee, this is my good friend, Ms. McKinstry. Ms. McKinstry , this is my friend Double Dee." said Marie.

Although Marie really admired Ms. McKinstry, Marie had introduced Double Dee as her friend to her because she was a devout Christian and sometimes came off as a strict disciplinarian when it came to social issues such as dating. However, Ms. McKinstry smiled and told Marie to "put a lid on it". She knew they were more than just friends, and smiled at the fact that Marie had been able to find a nice boy to date. The group of three conversed for a few minutes before Ms. McKinstry returned to the warmth of her house.

Marie turned to the front door to open it. Before she did so however, she remembered that she had something to ask Double Dee.

"Double Dee, are you okay with dogs?" asked Marie.

"Well, canines of the smaller variety are quite easy to get along with." said Double Dee, "But the larger varieties can sometimes scare the living daylights out of me!"

Before Marie had a chance to respond, May flung open the door to the house.

"Are ya's comin in or what?" asked May.

"We were just about to come in before you got in my face May!" yelled Marie.

As Double Dee closed the door to the house behind him, he heard a sound as if claws were scratching on a tile floor. He turned around to see a large, black, thick haired Alaskan malamute running directly for him.

"SADIE!" yelled Marie.

The dog jumped up onto Double Dee, almost knocking him down. Although the dog appeared vicious, Double Dee was soon to realize that she was quite friendly. Sadie began licking his face with her tongue, violating Double Dees personal space law, as well as his cleanliness law.

"Sadie!" yelled May, as she grabbed the dogs collar, pulling her away, "Double Dee does not want kisses right now."

"Sorry Double Dee." said Marie as she grabbed tissues from the coffee table, "I forgot to tell you that my Dad had a dog."

"It's quite alright Marie," said Double Dee as he dabbed his face off, "She is quite a gentle giant isn't she?"

"Yeah, her name is Sadie," said Marie, "She looks like a bear, but she's a sweetheart!"

After a few minutes, Lee and May ran upstairs to their room to do who knows what. At the same time, Rod entered the living room and switched the television on, preparing himself for his favorite program NASCAR racing. Linda entered the room and suggested that they could hang out in the family room in the basement if they wished. Marie obliged and led Double Dee to the basement stairs.

The red carpeted family room was lined with dark 70's style wood paneling. There was an entertainment center on the wall, equipped with a CRT television set, as well as a single couch sitting in front of the TV.

"Come sit with me cutie." said Marie as she sat down on the couch. Double Dee joined her.

"So Marie, how long have you known Ms. McKinstry?" asked Double Dee.

"I have known her pretty much since I can ever remember. She is such a nice woman Double Dee. We used to play jump rope outside all of the time, and Ms. McKinstry taught us fun Double Dutch rhymes that she used to do as a little girl. She would even bring lemonade that she had made out for us on hot days in the summers. We would return the favor by helping her with chores around her house. She's like a second grandmother."

"I think that it is wonderful that you have such a great relationship with Ms. McKinstry." said Double Dee.

"And she really liked you too!" said Marie smiling, "Nobody I know can resist that sweet, caring personality of yours!"

Double Dee blushed. He glanced around the room, and took notice of what appeared to be an old Steinway upright piano, sitting in the corner of the room.

"Marie, is that a piano over there?" asked Double Dee.

Marie glanced over at the instrument, and stood up off of the couch.

"Yes it is Double Dee." said Marie as she walked over to it, "Do you wanna play it?"

"I'm afraid I don't know how to Marie." said Double Dee.

Marie pulled the bench out from underneath the piano, and opened the lid, exposing the keys. She sat down on the bench, and patted the space she left next to her. This signaled Double Dee to walk across the room and take a seat next to Marie in front of the pianos 88 keys.

"Hmmm, what shall we do?" asked Marie to herself while looking up towards the ceiling, "I know!"

Marie reached her hands to the piano's keyboard; her blue nail polish stood out prominently against the white keys. Double Dees jaw dropped as Marie's fingers stroked the keys, producing the familiar melody of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Double Dee was astounded as Marie played the music so fluently and flawlessly, stopping after the first phrase of the song.

"That's all I know without the sheet music!" said Marie as she smiled.

"Marie, that was beautiful!" said Double Dee, "However did you learn to play the piano?"

"Linda has been playing piano since she was a little girl. When we were little, she used to bring us down here and play for us. She tried to teach all of us, but I seemed to be the only one who was interested in learning. So she taught me the basics, and then I pretty much taught myself the rest using the music books she had. I would sit down here for hours, going through songs over and over again, and even making up some of my own. It just always came natural to me for some reason, and I really love it."

"Marie, I thought that that piece that you just played was amazing. I would really enjoy to hear more of your playing." said Double Dee.

"Hmmm" said Marie jokingly, "Okay, but you have to play a song with me first!"

"But Marie, I have no idea how to play!" said Double Dee, "I'd much rather hear you!"

"Double Dee," said Marie, "You obviously have musical talent judging by the way that you thrashed that pedal steel guitar at your house, so it can't be that hard to learn an easy song on piano."

Double Dee appeared nervous. Marie put her hand on his shoulder, playfully frowning.

"Please, for me!" said Marie.

Double Dee couldn't resist that cute little face of Maries, and before he knew it, he was learning a song. After around ten minutes, Marie determined that they were ready to try their duet.

"Okay, so you got it now?" asked Marie.

"I believe so." said Double Dee.

"Okay, ready," said Marie, "1..2…3…4"

Double Dee used both of his hands to play a shuffle pattern on the bass section of the piano. After playing it once through, Marie joined him on the upper register, at which point the song that Marie had intended to play, "_Heart and Soul"_, was recognizable.

The couple finished playing at which point, they both chuckled and clapped for each other.

"See, aren't I just the best teacher?" asked Marie.

"You sure are!" said Double Dee, "Although my hands did cramp up from being in that awkward position."

Marie chuckled.

"So my lady, may I request some more beautiful music?" asked Double Dee playfully.

"Yes you may on one condition." said Marie as she smiled.

"And what may that be?" asked Double Dee.

"A kiss silly!" said Marie playfully.

Double Dee conformed to Marie's wishes, after which she grabbed sheet music from the drawer next to the piano. She proceeded to play other classical pieces, including Fur Elise, and Piano sonata No. 14. In addition she played a Scott Joplins The Entertainer as well.

Once Marie had finished her last song, Double Dee applauded her playing.

"Well done Marie, that was, spectacular!" said Double Dee.

"Thank you Double Dee." said Marie.

Marie stared down at the piano keyboard for a few moments, blushing as she did so. After a few seconds, she began speaking.

"Double Dee," said Marie, "If you don't mind I'd like to play you one more special song."

Marie looked up into Double Dee's eyes.

"And please forgive me for sounding horrible" said Marie as she giggled, "But I am going to sing."

Double Dee placed his hand on Marie's shoulder.

"Marie, I would love to hear your special song." said Double Dee as he smiled. Marie smiled back, as she returned her attention to the piano keyboard, placing her hands on the keys.

"I used to play this every time I came over here since I met you." said Marie, "I always felt as though it described us perfectly, with you running away from me and me being persistent."

Marie chuckled.

"This is called _Always Be My Baby_ by Mariah Carey." said Marie.

As soon as Marie had finished her sentence, she began playing her song. Double Dee watched as Maries fingers produced the songs introductory chords, which consisted of sustained arpeggios in the key of E major. After the first few bars of music, Marie began singing the lyrics, causing Double Dee's eyes to widen with surprise. As his ears absorbed the sound of Marie's singing voice, he couldn't help but think about how beautiful and professional she sounded. He stared with a genuine smile on his face, as he watched his beautiful girlfriend display her musical talents.

_We were as one babe_

_For a moment in time_

_And it seemed everlasting_

_That you would always be mine_

_Now you wanna be free_

_So I'm letting you fly_

_'Cause I know in my heart babe_

_Our love will never die_

_You'll always be a part of me_

_I'm part of you indefinitely_

_Boy don't you know you can't escape me_

_Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby_

_And we'll linger on_

_Time can't erase a feeling this strong_

_No way you're never gonna shake me_

_Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby_

_I ain't gonna cry no_

_And I won't beg you to stay_

_If you're determined to leave boy_

_I will not stand in your way_

_But inevitably_

_You'll be back again_

_'Cause you know in your heart babe_

_Our love will never end_

_You'll always be a part of me_

_I'm part of you indefinitely_

_Boy don't you know you can't escape me_

_Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby_

_And we'll linger on_

_Time can't erase a feeling this strong_

_No way you're never gonna shake me_

_Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby_

_I know that you'll be back boy_

_When your days and your nights get a little bit colder_

_I know that you'll be right back baby_

_Oh baby believe me it's only a matter of time_

_You'll always be a part of me_

_I'm part of you indefinitely_

_Boy don't you know you can't escape me_

_Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby_

_And we'll linger on_

_Time can't erase a feeling this strong_

_No way you're never gonna shake me_

_Ooh darling 'cause you'll always be my baby._

Marie played a final chord on the piano, after which she took her hands away from the keyboard. She placed them on her lap as she stared down towards her feet blushing. Double Dee decided to break the silence.

"Marie!" said Double Dee, "That was absolutely amazing! If I wasn't sitting next to you, I would have been sure that that was a professional vocalist performing that piece. How could you have ever of assumed that you sound horrible."

Marie smiled and looked into Double Dee's eyes.

"Thank you Double Dee," said Marie, after which she looked towards the piano again, "For some reason, I always had this feeling that I would have you ever since I first laid eyes on you. Even though I thought you hated me, and ran away from me all of the time, I had this hope that you would someday like me back, and I knew I could never give up on you. When I heard this song on the radio, it pretty much summed up my life with you at that point. I know it sounds really silly, but I used to sit down here and play it, and imagine I was singing it to you."

Marie chuckled, as did Double Dee.

"Well, all's I can say…" said Marie as she leaned into Double Dee's face, "Is that no matter what, you will always be my baby."

Marie kissed Double Dee on the check, after which she smiled. Double Dee turned towards Marie and placed his hand on her face. Marie smiled, as she moved her lips towards his initiating a gentle open-mouthed kiss. The couple kissed on the piano bench for a few minutes, after which the sound of Lee's voice echoed down the stairs.

"Hey Marie, it's 10 o'clock, Daddy's gonna take us back to the trailer!" said Lee.

"Alright, we'll be right up!" said Marie.

The ride home from Rods house was rather peaceful. The truck was much less cramped than it was on the way to the ice rink. Lee was sitting in the front passenger seat, while Marie and Double Dee held hands in the back seat. May had opted to stay over Rods tonight. He would drop her off at school before work the next morning. For such reasons, Linda and May stayed at the house. Before Double Dee had left, Linda and May were sure to give him goodbye hugs, Linda's was especially heartfelt as she told him that she though he was a great kid. Lee was sitting in the front passenger seat, while Marie and Double Dee held hands in the back seat.

Rod's truck pulled into the trailer park, and stopped directly in front of the Kanker's trailer. Double Dee, Marie and Lee emerged from the truck and bid goodbye to Rod. Rod was sure to shake Double Dees hand once again, and told him that it was his pleasure to meet him. He also welcomed Double Dee to join he and his family over his house in the spring for a barbeque, as well as for their yearly trip down the shore over the summer.

The girls and Double Dee bid a final goodbye to Rod, after which the red truck briskly exited the trailer park. It was 10:30 p.m. and a school night, so Double Dee and Marie would be forced to say their goodbyes.

"Alright love birds," said Lee as she walked over to the trailer door, "I'm gonna head into the trailer so you two can have your little make out session."

Lee snickered and stuck her tongue out at Marie. Marie merely smiled.

"Alright Lee, just get in the trailer will ya!" yelled Marie playfully.

Lee smiled as she opened the trailer door and pushed it shut behind her. Marie seized the opportunity to embrace Double Dee and gently kiss him on the lips.

"Marie, thank you so much for inviting me to participate in your family skate night." said Double Dee as he smiled at Marie, "Even though I will probably be covered in bruises by the morning, I have had the most spectacular time learning how to ice skate."

"I am so glad you came!" said Marie, "I almost thought you were gonna back out on me with your fear of meeting my Dad."

Marie chuckled.

"See love, you worried for nothing" said Marie, "He and Linda really liked you, I myself was surprised when he invited you down the shore with us!"

Double Dee blushed and felt extremely proud that his first time meeting his girlfriend's father went so well.

"So are ya gonna kiss me, or what Oven Mitt?" asked Marie playfully.

Double Dee looked into Maries smiling face. He closed his eyes and leaned into Marie, touching his lips to hers. Marie moved her body closer, touching it to his and wrapping her arms around his neck. The couple shared an open mouthed kiss for around 20 seconds before a loud bang sounded from the trailer door.

"Yo!" yelled Lee out the window while laughing, "Get a damn room!"

Marie said nothing but joked back with her sister by repositioning her and Double Dee so that she was sure Lee would have a clearer view of their kiss.

"Like what ya see?" asked Marie playfully as she began making out with an extremely uncomfortable Double Dee once again. Lee laughed and closed the window blinds, giving the couple their peace once more.

"Sorry cutie, I just had to do that!" said Marie as she giggled. Double Dee, although quite embarrassed, managed to crack a smile.

The couple once again exchanged "I love yous", a passionate kiss, and goodnights. Double Dee watched as Marie disappeared behind the large steel door of the trailer before he began his trek home through the winter air.

As Double Dee walked home, he thought about all of the talent that he had witnessed tonight from the all three sisters. He had never expected the bullies he had met last summer to be interested in such things as the piano, or figure skating, although he was glad he finally was able to see them expressing their talents. He was especially enamored by Marie's ability to play the piano and sing, as he was a fan of instrumental music.

As Double Dee was walking home, Eddy and Kevin were discussing the final stages of his plot which he called "Operation Kankerless", a perfect name for the sting in Eddy's eyes. Although he and Kevin quarreled over the somewhat half baked name of the plan, there was one thing that both boys were definitely sure of. They would strike first thing tomorrow morning.


	41. Chapter 41

**Chapter 41**

The golden, glistening light of the sun rose over Peach Creek estates at approximately 6:30 a.m., exactly the same time Double Dee's alarm clock had gone off. He quickly roused to begin yet another productive academic day.

As Double Dee dressed himself, he couldn't help but feel relieved that he had gotten over the hurdle of meeting the rest of Marie's family. Not only that, but he had actually enjoyed being around them, as their friendly demeanor made him feel right at home.

The fact that shocked Double Dee the most was that he still couldn't believe that he had just had one of the best nights of his life with a trio of sisters that he had thought were immoral, irrational, pig-headed monsters prior to this winter. Even though he had a feeling that Marie was a nice person from the moment she showed kindness on that faithful night exactly two weeks ago, he had never thought that the other two Kanker sisters also harbored gentle and friendly personalities of their own. He had most definitely been surprised when Marie had told him that May had feelings for Ed that were similar to Marie's reason for liking Double Dee. He could only hope Ed's forgiving and friendly personality would give May a chance, at least as a friend, if she showed him who she truly was.

Double Dee had finished dressing and decided that he would be the one to wake Eddy up for a change. He exited his house and ran across the street towards Eddy's yellow colored ranch house. He entered the yard and attempted to open the door to his bedroom. Oddly enough, the door was locked.

"Strange." said Double Dee to himself.

Double Dee was completely puzzled. He looked through the window into Eddy's room. The circular bed that he would usually still be sleeping in was vacant, with only what appeared to be a used tissue on the sheets, as well as a poorly hidden cover of one of his "girly" magazines.

"Filthy." said Double Dee under his breath as he left Eddy's yard, pondering where he could possibly be.

Double Dee quickly ran into Ed's backyard in an attempt to find Ed. Sadly, Ed was absent as well. Although he wanted to tell his two closest friends about the wonderful and exciting night he had, he would just have to wait until he arrived at school. Double Dee returned to his yard and unhooked the "Ed Mobile" from its chain. After wheeling the bike out to the street, he began pedaling down Rathink Avenue toward his beloved school.

Marie woke up just as excited as Double Dee. She had spent the night talking Lee's ear off about Double Dee, and was continuing to do so, even as the girls were getting dressed for school. Marie donned a blue form fitting shirt, as well as a pair of black jeans and her black winter boots. Lee, not caring merely as much as Marie for her manner of dress, simply wore her usual polka dotted white shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

Marie was excited about seeing Double Dee in school, but she was also excited about good news that she had heard last night. May had called the trailer from Rods house shortly after Double Dee had left. She was talking so fast from excitement that Marie could not even understand her at first.

Rod had somehow been able to pick up a new insurance plan that provided orthodontic care for any child under the age of 26. May of course fit this category and by next week she would be fitted with braces that would initiate the process to correct her large overbite. Marie felt extremely happy for her sister, as she knew that that was something that May had desired for a long time.

Marie couldn't help but notice how many beautiful things had happened to her and her family since Double Dee had come into her life. Of course, she knew that May's ability to get braces had almost nothing to do with it, but it reminded her of how Double Dee's kindly personality had allowed her to become much closer to her sisters than she ever was before. In addition, Double Dee had freed her from the torment and pain she suffered as a victim of school bullying as a little girl, and allowed her to trust people once again. Marie could not deny it, Double Dee was truly her hero.

Little did Double Dee or Marie know that Eddy had snuck into the school early to break into Double Dee's locker. He made sure he was alone, as he had to make sure that it looked like Double Dee placed the brown envelope that Eddy was carrying in his own locker, in order for the plan to work. Once the evidence was planted, Eddy rejoined Kevin and Ed, who were sitting out on one of the park benches, and discussed a few final details of the sting.

"Alright, now I want one on every locker okay?" said Eddy, "And if we run out, Sock Head said that he stashed more in his locker yesterday and gave me the combo for his lock so we could get them."

"Righteous!" said Kevin, as he slapped Eddy five and then shook his hand, pulling Eddy into a hug.

"Alright, let's go give those Kankers a taste of the shit they fed us for a whole year and a half!" yelled Eddy as he and Kevin began walking into the school.

At this moment, Eddy turned around and saw Ed still sitting on the park bench.

"Hey monobrow!" yelled Eddy, "Are ya coming or what?"

Ed sat staring at Eddy. Suddenly he grabbed his stomach and bent over in pain.

"Ooooh, Eddy," said Ed, "My tummy hurts, I'm gonna go to the nurse."

Ed began walking into the building, still bent over in pain as he passed through the steel doors to the school.

"Geez, I guess all that gravy finally caught up to him." said Kevin as he and Eddy laughed.

Kevin and Eddy spent the next hour taping copies of a certain flyer to every locker in the vicinity of Double Dees locker. Thankfully for Eddy, they had enough to fill all of the lockers and didn't require any more from the "planted" stash that he had placed in Double Dee's locker.

"Perfect." said Eddy while grinning slyly, "Now we just wait for Sock Head and Wall Eye Wendy, and everything will be peachy keen."

It was now almost time for school, and the children of the cul-de-sac began funneling into the building. Everyone was surprised to see a 11 sheet of paper taped to their locker. After a quick glance at the flyers, several of the students began laughing.

Nazz was one of the first students to view the flyer. At the same time, Kevin was atempting to surprise her with a hug from the back.

"Hey babe, what's happenin?" asked Kevin as he hugged Nazz.

"Yo Kev," said Nazz, "Did you see this?"Nazz held up the flyer to Kevin.

Kevin snickered.

"You think this is funny Kev?" said Nazz, "This is cruel and heartless. I can't believe someone would actually do something like this to another person."

At this point, Kevin froze. He knew that it was he and Eddy responsible for the notorious flyers that were distributed to the entire cul-de-sac. He did not want to be on Nazz's bad side.

"Yeah tell me about it." said Kevin nervously.

At this point Marie and Lee had reached Peach Creek Junior High, and were currently standing outside on the curb. A few moments later, Rod's truck pulled up, May smiling from ear to ear in the passenger seat. She kissed her father goodbye, and promptly got out of the truck placing the pink single strap of her book bag over her shoulder. As Rod pulled away, May couldn't help but run into Marie's arms and jump up and down still excited at the prospect of her teeth being corrected. Lee couldn't resist joining in on the group hug, happy for her little sister as well.

Around five minutes later, Double Dee pulled up on his bike. The girls took notice and ran over to him as he began chaining the bike to its rack.

"Hey handsome." said Marie as she leaned down and kissed Double Dee on the cheek.

"Hello Angel." said Double Dee as he stood up. Double Dee, although once a shy teenager who would do nothing but babble like an idiot and sweat around girls, did not hesitate to reach his arms out and hug Marie in a tight embrace. Lee and May watched happily as Double Dee picked her up off of the ground and spun her around.

"Whoah, you're in a frisky mood today mister." said Marie as Double Dee put her down, "What's the occasion?"

"No occasion Marie," said Double Dee, "I just thought I would test the abilities of your body for use as a gyroscope."

Marie stared at Double Dee grinning evilly, yet jokingly.

"On second thought, maybe I just was extremely happy to see that beautiful face of yours." said Double Dee while smiling.

"That's better!" said Marie as she kissed him on the lips.

"Alright you two!" yelled Lee as she walked over to the couple and separated them, "Let's get inside, May's got some good news to share with ya!"

The group began walking up the steps to Peach Creek Junior High, while May began her story about how Rod told her that she was going to be able to get braces. She changed to a deeper sounding voice with a slight southern drawl to imitate her father's patterns of speech as she told her story in an extremely quick manner.

"And then my Dad said, 'I have a little surprise for you little girl' and I was like, 'what do you mean Daddy?' and he was like, 'I was just cleared for a new insurance plan that will let us get you orthodontic care' and then I said 'what is orthodontic care?' and then my Dad said 'You are finally going to be able to get br…"

May was cut off as she opened the doors to the school. The whole hallway was silent, and every last person's eyes were staring at the group of four. Double Dee felt extremely awkward as he walked down the hallway towards his locker with Marie and her sisters by her side. Eddy approached Double Dee snickering.

"Yo Double Dee!" said Eddy, "I gotta admit you are one slick son-of-a-bitch!"

Eddy patted Double Dee on his back.

"Eddy, I am afraid I have no idea what yo…"

"Don't play dumb Sock Head," said Eddy, "We finally got them where we want them."

Double Dee turned and looked around the hallway. All of the lockers were lined with the same exact flyer, which consisted of a white piece of paper, with writing on it.

Lee walked over to one of the flyers and ripped it down off of the locker. There were words written at the top of the page:

**We all knew that Marie Kanker was quite the dirty skank that we see here!**

Lee glanced down at the photograph that was shown below those terrible words. To her dismay she found a larger version of Marie's shore picture, showing her in her black bikini. Marie had not taken the photograph as a provocative gesture; however, Eddy had manipulated the situation to make it seem so.

Lee's eyes found even more words at the bottom of the page.

**Okay, I know what you're thinking, she's got a nice body, right? But enjoy it while it lasts, cause wait till you see what she is really hiding under that dirty hair of hers! Turn the page for a nice little surprise.**

Lee turned the page and found an extremely large picture of Marie without her hair covering her right eye. Eddy couldn't help but laugh when Lee laid her eyes on the photograph.

Marie snatched the flyer away from her sister and read it through herself. The whole hallway was silent except for slight snickers and giggles from a few students. Marie read through the words and glanced at the pictures, after which she placed her hand over her mouth, distraught beyond belief. As she fought tears, she looked down and handed the flyer to May, who read through it equally as surprised. Marie decided to speak up. She walked over to Double Dee, who was confused beyond belief.

"Double Dee?" asked Marie as she looked into his eyes heartbroken, "Ho…..how did this happen, these are the pictures I gave you."

"Marie I have no ide…."

Double Dee was cut off by Eddy, who jumped in front of him.

"HA!" said Eddy as he pointed into Maries face, "You fell for it!"

"Fell for what?" asked May

Marie looked into Double Dee's eyes whimpering.

"Double Dee, what's going on?" she asked quietly.

"Marie, I honestl…."

Eddy once again cut Double Dee off.

"What's going on is that your stupid ass, as well as your sisters fell for possibly the best scam we have ever come up with. And it was all Double Dee's brilliant idea." said Eddy.

The three Kanker sisters stood in silence.

"Double Dee told us the whole story about how you "fell in love" after he fixed your TV, and how you trusted him more than anything. You may have trusted him too much because he told us all of your secrets. You didn't know that he was just playing into ya, trying to dig up some good dirt on you animals. Well it worked, and now you'll finally feel the embarrassment we felt from you ten times over!"

Marie stood in front of Double Dee upset beyond belief. She looked into his eyes.

"Is it true?" asked Marie, holding back tears.

"Marie, I honestly don't have a clue what is going on!" said Double Dee.

"Then how did these pictures wind up all around the freakin school!" yelled Marie.

"Oh I'll tell ya how." said Eddy grinning, "Cause Sock Head made hundreds of copies of these pictures, and we're planning on releasing many more. He's got them all in his locker."

"Eddy that is preposterous!" yelled an infuriated Double Dee, "I know for a fact that I certainly don't have anything in my locker!"

Double Dee walked over to his locker and opened it. To his dismay he spotted a brown envelope, much like the one Marie had given to him with her pictures in it. He pulled it out of his locker, surprised.

Eddy snatched the envelope off of Double Dee and opened it.

"Well oh well." said Eddy as he pulled out a slew of flyers from the envelope, "Look what we have here." he said while grinning. He walked over to Marie, and flashed the pictures in her face. Marie was so distraught that she was completely unaffected by Eddy's horrible act, and continued staring down the hallway.

"YO!" yelled Lee as she walked over to Eddy, "Get outta my sisters face!"

"Oooh what's she gonna do about it, stare at me with that mutated eye of hers and make me puke" yelled Eddy, laughing at his own joke.

What Eddy had failed to realize was that none of his other friends were laughing with him. Kevin felt quite horrible for two reasons. First and foremost, he knew that Nazz would be infuriated if she discovered that he had taken part in this sting operation. Secondly, even though he was prone to making fun of others, he had not taken the time to think that what he was doing could really upset Marie. Even the hard athlete couldn't help feeling sorry for the ridicule Marie was suffering.

Marie walked over to Double Dee and looked into his eyes, still holding back tears.

"I TRUSTED YOU!" she yelled, "I gave my heart to you Double Dee!

"Marie I…" Double Dee couldn't get the words out of his mouth.

"How could you do this to me!" yelled Marie, tears were now streaming down her face for the first time in public, "After all we have been through!"

"Marie let me…"

"It was all a bunch of shit lies!" yelled Marie, "I can't believe I was so stupid. I was completely wrong about you, you're just another jerk!"

Eddy took notice of Marie's crying.

"OOOOHHHH what's the matter baby, ya gonna cry?" said Eddy in a baby like voice as he pulled out his cell phone to take a video, "This is freakin priceless!"

Eddy began laughing at his own joke

"THAT IS ENOUGH EDDY!" yelled an infuriated Double Dee.

"Shut up!" yelled May towards Double Dee. She put her hand on Marie's shoulder who was crying into her hands, "You are a heartless jerk Double Dee!"

Double Dee had no idea what to say, as he absolutely had no idea where any of this had come from.

Just then one student blurted out the phrase, 'Lazy Eye Marie!", and began causing some of the other kids in the hallway to chant the phrase over and over. Marie was brought back to her days in elementary school, and the torturous feelings that came along with it, as 'lazy eye Marie' was the nickname bestowed to her by her bullies. For the first time since they had moved to Peach Creek, all three Kanker girls stood as still as statues with fearful expressions, as the kids gathered in a circle around the girls, effectively trapping them in a mob of hurtful words.

Marie couldn't take it no more. She ran as fast as she could toward the front door of the school, crying her eyes out. Double Dee gave chase.

"Marie!" yelled Double Dee as she ran, eventually catching up to her.

"Marie, please listen to me!" yelled Double Dee as he placed his hand on her shoulder. Marie whipped around, and removed his hand from her shoulder.

"Don't you ever touch me, and don't you ever speak to me again Double Dee!" yelled Marie as she ran down the stairs of the school and out of the parking lot, heading towards the cul-de-sac.

Moments later, Lee and May emerged from the school doors and began running after their sister. As they ran, May turned around and gave Double Dee quite the nasty facial expression. Lee surprisingly did not say a word.

Double Dee stood on the concrete steps of the school, staring up into the blue sky. He had absolutely no idea what had just happened, but it was clear that within the course of around 5 minutes, he and Marie's beautiful relationship had been completely tarnished, and their strong trust for each other had been broken as well. Double Dee's heart was torn in two when he heard Marie's last words before she ran off.

After slightly regaining his composure, Double Dee had realized that some form of foul play had taken place, and he was determined to get to the bottom of it. Double Dee stormed back into the school, and walked over towards his peers. Most of the students had dispersed from the scene; Eddy however remained by his locker, snickering as he exchanged his books. At this point, Ed had finally rejoined the rest of the group standing near Eddy's locker.

"Mornin' Sock Head?" said Eddy, acting as if nothing happened

Double Dee simply walked past him, not saying a word.

"Geez, don't jump to say hello." said Eddy.

Double Dee was furious beyond belief.

"Eddy McGee, what you have just done to Marie was completely inexcusable!" yelled Double Dee, "I demand to know how you obtained those photographs!"

Everyone was completely confused. Kevin was the first to chime in.

"Yo Eddy, what's goin on I thought you said Double Dee gave you the pictures?" asked Kevin, inadvertently busting himself with Nazz.

Nazz looked at Kevin with an evil glare.

"You knew about this Kevin?" asked Nazz, extremely upset. Kevin couldn't bring himself to say anything else.

"Alright." said Double Dee, "I want an explanation immediately!"

Eddy was completely trapped at this point, he had nothing left to do but confess the whole thing to Double Dee, hoping for the best.

"Alright, alright," said Eddy as he walked over to Double Dee, attempting to place his arm around his shoulder." Double Dee simply moved backward, as to not let Eddy perform the act. Eddy was taken aback, but continued his story anyway.

"See Double Dee," said Eddy, "I couldn't let ya fall in love with a Kanker sister. It just isn't right ya know. So I had to do something about it. We stole the pictures from your room while you were out in the bathroom the night we came to get you for the game night. Then me and Kev made the flyers at my house Sunday night."

Double Dee stared infuriated at Eddy.

"You'll thank me for this later." said Eddy as he winked.

Double Dee was fed up, and did something he would never think that he would do. He grabbed Eddy by the shoulders, and slammed him into a locker, causing an audible metallic thud.

"I will certainly never thank you for this Eddy!" yelled Double Dee, "You have ruined quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to me in my life! I cannot believe that you would stoop to such a low level!"

Eddy stared into Double Dees infuriated eyes before beginning to speak.

"Geez, Sock Head, that Kanker really had ya brainwashed!" said Eddy.

"My name is Edward thank you very much," yelled Double Dee, "And that beautiful, intelligent and dignified woman has a name of her own as well."

Double Dee paused releasing Eddy.

"I thought that as my best friend, you could see past all of her mistakes as I did, and get to know the beautiful person she really was. I strongly believed that you would be happy for me finding someone who truly cared about me. I now know that I was incorrect, and I suppose you really aren't my true friend Eddy!" said Double Dee.

"So this is the thanks I get for saving you from that skank!" yelled an angry Eddy.

"Don't you dare ever call Marie a skank again, or I'll….I'll"

Double Dee placed his fist up as if he was going to punch Eddy. For the first time ever, he was pushed over the edge, and was seriously considering using violence to solve his problem.

Several students walking the halls took notice of the situation. They stopped and began chanting "FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT" repeatedly.

At this point Double Dee put his fist down. He was still filled with rage, but decided to express it in an entirely different way.

For the next thirty seconds, Double Dee displayed his command of the English language in an entirely different way. Eddy had known that Double Dee had an extraordinary vocabulary, but never knew his lips were capable of enunciating the various obscenities that were yelled in that short period of time.

After Double Dee had finished, he began walking away from Eddy towards homeroom. Everyone in the hallway was in a state of shock, as Double Dee picked up very flyer he saw, crumbled them up, and threw them in the trash.

"So you're just gonna walk away!" yelled Eddy.

Double Dee turned around.

"Don't even speak to me Eddy!" yelled Double Dee, "Thanks to you I have lost Marie's love, as well as her trust. She thinks I'm am quite possibly the worst person standing on two feet due to your horrible shenanigans. I hope you are happy. From this moment on, I only have time for my true friends! Good day sir and have a great life!"

Double Dee continued walking down the hall eventually turning the corner.

"Be that way Sock Head!" yelled Eddy has he began picking his book bag up.

Kevin was now furious at Eddy, mostly because Eddy had manipulated him into hurting one of his other friends.. He began walking over to him to give him a piece of his mind when Nazz grabbed him and turned him around.

"Kevin, you were behind all of this?" asked Nazz

"No Nazz, ya see Eddy made me…"

"So this is why you've been blowing me off for the last week!" yelled Nazz. "I can't believe you could actually do this to another human being Kevin! I thought you were cool."

Nazz glared at Kevin and shut her locker, after which she stormed down the hallway, furious beyond belief.

"Wait Nazz, I can explain!" yelled Kevin.

"It's over Kevin!" yelled Nazz, "If you can treat another girl that horribly, I can only imagine what you could do to me!"

Before Nazz turned the corner to the hallway, she uttered one final word to her now ex-boyfriend.

"DORK!" yelled Nazz at the top of her lungs.

Kevin stood speechless for a few seconds, before furiously marching over to Eddy. He grabbed Eddy just as Double Dee had done a few moments ago.

"Kev, I'm sorry dude, I didn't mean for that to happen!" said Eddy in a state of panic.

"Spare your shit!" yelled Kevin, "I thought you changed, apparently you didn't. You're still the lying manipulating con artist you were before. You just cost me the best thing, I had in my life, and you just ruined something great for your supposed best friend. I can't believe I actually trusted you. I thought you were cool man."

Kevin shoved Eddy into the locker and began walking away. He turned around to utter a few last words.

"Go live with that asshole you call a brother, you're just like him!" yelled Kevin as he turned the corner to the hallway.

Eddy was absolutely furious.

"Screw you all!" he yelled as he rubbed his sore shoulders "Come on Ed, let's go!"

Ed had not said a word during the whole duration of the calamity that had just transpired, yet reluctantly followed Eddy to their homeroom.

Double Dee would spend the next few minutes in the boy's bathroom in privacy. He was extremely distraught, and managed to burst into tears for a few minutes. He had just lost the trust and the love of his beautiful girlfriend, who he was able to confide in about any personal problems he had. He was sure Marie would never forgive him for what he had supposedly had done.

On the other hand, Double Dee was extremely disappointed that Eddy would do something so horrible behind his back. He couldn't believe that Eddy called himself his best friend, yet wouldn't stand by him through his relationship with Marie. He felt betrayed, as he put his ultimate trust in his friends.

Double Dee quickly made himself decent in front of the mirror and exited the bathroom. He was late for homeroom by five minutes, and was about to begin the longest, most painstaking school day that he had ever experienced.


	42. Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**

It was 8:30 a.m. and the sound of the first school bell filled the hallways of Peach Creek Junior High, just as it did every morning to signal students to file into their respective homerooms. On this day in particular, unspoken tensions were felt all throughout room 305. Double Dee was nowhere to be found, even though it had been two minutes since the late bell had rung.

Eddy sat in the back of the room, in his usual place next to Ed. Ed, seemed to have something heavy on his mind, as instead of sipping gravy from his thermos, or reading his comic book, he was sitting behind his desk with his head resting in his hands, staring at the wall. Eddy was sitting behind his desk as well, spinning his pen around in his hand while staring angrily at the front chalkboard.

An equally angry Kevin sat a few rows in front of him. Kevin had made sure to sit as far away from Eddy as possible. Nazz who was infuriated with Kevin, took an empty seat on the opposite side of the room. Kevin attempted to make eye contact with her, but his efforts were to no avail, as Nazz buried her face into her copy of Of Mice and Men. She was effectively ignoring him.

Mr. Mulherin began taking roll. He quickly passed Kevin and Ed's names on the list, and in no time, he had marked Eddy present. He eventually reached Double Dees name, and called it twice, after which he began marking Double Dees first ever lateness into his record book.

Just as Mr. Mulherin's pen was about to touch the page, the door to the classroom opened, and an emotionally drained Double Dee entered the room. Double Dee did not move his eyes at all as he took an empty seat near the front of the classroom; the teenager who was once enthusiastic about going to school now wanted nothing more than to be home sleeping in his bed. He was heartbroken, and felt sick from all of the stress he had just gone through.

"Look at him," said Eddy angrily, "Playing it up, he's lucky I did what I did!"

Eddy picked up his pencil.

"Who needs him, he just cramps our style with his stupid hat and brainy words!" said Eddy as he began drawing pictures that poked fun at Double Dee on his desk.

Ed continued staring at the front of the classroom, attempting not to pay attention to Eddy's complaints.

Just then, the teacher had finished taking roll. Mr. Mulherin allowed his students free time to do whatever they wished once he had finished roll call. Kevin took advantage of this opportunity; he stood up out of his seat, and walked over to where Double Dee was seated. He took a seat next to Double Dee and put his arm on his shoulder. Kevin told the whole story of how Eddy manipulated him, and apologized whole heartedly to his friend for all of his inappropriate actions. Double Dee had realized long before that the real mastermind behind this brutal assault was Eddy, and had no qualms with Kevin Cleary.

"Look at that, big chin is sucking up to him too!" said Eddy as he furiously ground his pencil into his desk. Ed stared intently at Eddy, still puzzled by the wild morning he was forced to endure.

The same unspoken tensions continued to radiate throughout the rest of the day, most notably at lunch time. The group of former best friends who would once never miss the opportunity to eat lunch together, were for the first time eating at all different tables. Eddy and Ed sat at a table near the left side of the lunchroom, while Kevin and Rolf sat in the same row, but on the far right side of the room. Nazz spent her lunch with the rest of the girls from her cheerleading squad.

As Double Dee ate his ham and cheese sandwich, he instinctively looked up towards a single brown table near the lunchroom windows, the table at which his beautiful girlfriend and her sisters would enjoy lunch, expecting to make eye contact with Marie's beautiful eyes. He was instantly reminded of the tragedy that had occurred that morning when he saw an empty table. He continued eating his sandwich heartbroken, wondering of Marie's whereabouts.

Marie was currently laying on the king sized bed in her trailer bedroom, crying her eyes out. She couldn't believe that Double Dees love had all been a lie, and that she was merely a pawn in a sinister plot to pay her and her sisters back for all they have done. She felt betrayed that she had told him all of her secrets. She had even admitted that she was wrong for doing those things, yet he still took part in humiliating her. She had really loved him, and she was dismayed that the love she had thought she received was just a joke.

Lee and May had arrived at the trailer shortly after Marie. May entered the trailer first, infuriated while Lee slowly closed the door behind them.

"I can't believe it!" yelled May, "I hate that stupid jerk, he's just like all of the other kids from the city!"

May began walking up the stairs.

"May, where the hell do you think you're going? Get down here!" yelled Lee.

"I'm going to help my sister!" said May, continuing her walk up the stairs.

"May, get down here!" yelled Lee.

May disobeyed her and continued walking up the stairs,

"I'm gonna give that wimp a piece of my fist." yelled May.

"ANNAMAE LYNN LONERGAN!" yelled Lee in an intimidating breathy whisper, as to not alert Marie, with an angry expression, "Get your ass down her on this couch right now!"

May appeared as if she was a young child that had just been scolded for trying to grab something they shouldn't. She began descending the stairs, with a saddened expression on her face, and took her place on the couch. Lee followed suit and sat down next to her sister.

"Now May, before ya go up there and add fuel to this fire, I want ya to listen to what I gotta say." said Lee quietly.

May shook her head as if agreeing with Lee.

"I really don't think that Double Dee had anything to do with this thing that happened this morning," said Lee in a calm voice.

"But Lee, you saw the pictures!" yelled May.

"Come on May, cut the crap." said Lee, "Do ya really think that shy Double Dee would jump for freakin' joy to volunteer to be the one that buttered us up?"

May thought about Lee's statement for a few seconds. Her older sister was right, Double Dee would have been much more nervous than he was around them if his feeling weren't genuine. He would have never made himself as vulnerable to her and her sisters if he wasn't doing it on his own accord, and would had definitely blown his cover if he was faking it.

"But what about all of the flyers?" asked May.

"Marie must have given the pictures to Double Dee as a gift or something, and somehow they ended up in the wrong hands." said Lee.

Lee paused as she looked into her sisters eyes.

"I really don't see Double Dee acting as the mastermind behind something like this." said Lee.

"So what do we do?" asked May.

"Well, if we go up there and try to talk to her now, she won't listen." said Lee, "She is way too thick headed to even let us get a word in edge wise. We're gonna have to wait for her to cool off for a little while."

"But if it wasn't Double Dee, then who could have done it?" asked May.

Lee grinned at her baby sister and put her hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry May," said Lee, as she leaned into Mays face.

"It just so happens that I have a good idea of who is responsible for this crap." said Lee.

Lee moved away from her sister and stared at the wall.

"I smell a rat," said Lee, "A short, loudmouthed, conniving rat."

Although Eddy was the self proclaimed master of all scams, he had not taken into account that Lee was just as clever, if not even more so than him. Lee was a smart girl deep down inside, and with a little analysis, she had developed a theory that was remarkably close to the truth.

"So now what?" asked a concerned May.

"We're gonna have to get him alone to have a little chat with him." said Lee while snickering, "We'll wait outside his house until he comes home from school and we'll nail him good."

"But Lee, beating him up won't get Double Dee and Marie back together!" said May.

"I know that dingbat!" said Lee, "We're just gonna get a confession out of him, and make sure that he never does anything like this again, if ya get what I mean."

Lee paused.

"Relax sis," said Lee, "I got a little plan of my own that will put the little runt in his place, as well as hopefully get out two lovebirds back together."

Lee and May smiled at each other as they spent the rest of their day discussing the intricate plot Lee had come up with to reverse Eddy's damage. Before they knew it, it was 3:00, and Peach Creek Junior High had most likely dismissed all of its students.

"Alright, let's go!" said Lee.

Lee and May stepped out of the trailer and walked to the fence that acted as the border to the lane. The girls quickly hopped the gate, and then hopped another gate into Eddy's yard. They concealed themselves behind the bushes near his house, as they wished to initiate a surprise attack.

Just then, the girls heard Eddy's raspy voice approaching.

"Here he comes!" said Lee, "Keep quiet, until I say so."

As Eddy approached his house, the girls were surprised at what they saw. Eddy was not alone as they would have expected and hoped for. Walking next to him was the object of May's affections, Ed. May was somewhat heartbroken herself seeing her Ed paling around with Eddy after what he had done to Double Dee.

"Shit." said Lee in a drawn out and annoyed tone.

"Now what?" asked May.

"Let's just hang out and see if he says anything, if not we'll get him later." said Lee.

Little did May know that Ed was dealing with intense emotional issues at the moment himself. He felt as though he was being forced to choose between his two best friends in the whole world, a choice which he had thought he would never have to make in his life. Eddy was once again complaining about Double Dee and talking down about him. Even though he wanted to keep their friendship together, Ed couldn't help but be infuriated with Eddy. Ed finally decided that it was time to do the right thing.

As Eddy attempted to open his front door, Ed stood in front of him, blocking his path.

"Yo lumpy, I can't open the door if you're standing in front of it!" yelled Eddy as he fumbled with his keys.

Eddy looked up into Ed's face. The dopey smile that he usually displayed was nowhere to be found. Instead, Eddy saw a face that he had only ever seen one other time.

"Hey Ed are you alright?" asked Eddy.

Ed said nothing, and continued staring at Eddy.

"What's the matter?" said Eddy fearfully, as he reached down towards Ed's shoes, "Ya got a pebble in your shoe again?"

Ed kicked Eddy away from him and leaned down into his face.

"Geez Ed, where is this coming from!" said Eddy

"I never wanted it Eddy!" yelled an angry Ed, "I watched you making up that stupid plan up all week and never said anything about it, thinking that you weren't mean enough to be able to do it. Boy was I wrong. I'm not the smartest guy in the world Eddy, but I know what's right from wrong, and what you did to Double Dee was just wrong!" yelled Ed, surprising Eddy.

"Whoa there Ed calm down." said Eddy, "Don't turn on me like those other losers!"

"Double Dee was our bestest friend, and you made him sad." said Ed. "I needed to get away from it all so I faked being sick this morning. I didn't want to hurt my friend's feelings."

Ed paused for a few seconds.

"I'm leaving!" yelled Ed.

Ed began walking away from Eddy, stomping angrily.

"Hey, Lumpy!" yelled Eddy, "Get back here!"

"My name is not lumpy!" yelled Ed at the top of his lungs.

"Where are ya goin!" yelled Eddy.

"I'm going to help my true friend," yelled Ed as he walked towards Double Dee's house, "And until you are ready to say sorry, and make this up to Double Dee, you should sit down and think about what you did mister!"

Although his vocabulary and speech skills were not as proficient as Double Dees, Ed sure did leave an impression on Eddy with his words. Eddy could not believe that Ed had finally stood up to him, demonstrating a thinking capacity that seemed beyond his level. Eddy was now furious beyond belief, as he had lost his final friends trust. He entered his house and slammed the door behind him.

Lee and May were still in their place behind Eddy's bushes, surprised at what they had just witnessed.

"Yo May?" asked Lee surprised, "Did we just see Big Ed get angry?"

"I think we just did Lee." said May.

Even though May was surprised that Ed, who was usually a gentle giant, managed to express anger, she couldn't help but feel proud for her crush. Ed had stood up for his friend Double Dee, and in his case, his anger was very much warranted. May began to melt inside at her crushes stunning display of loyalty and bravery.

"So it looks like we got a confession." said Lee.

"Yep," said May, "Thanks to Big Ed!"

"I never knew he had it in him!" said Lee as she snickered.

The girls shared a quick giggle before sneaking out of Eddy's yard just as quickly as they had been able to sneak in. They returned to their trailer, and decided that it was best if they returned to Eddy's house later that night when they knew that he would definitely be alone.

"Let's go check on Marie," said Lee, "Get her something to drink, she's probably thirsty."

The girls proceeded up the stairs and walked towards the bedroom door, opening it. Marie had slammed the door so hard that the "Employees must wash hands!" sign Tabby had brought home as a souvenir from her old restaurant was jarred off of its mounting. It was currently lying on the bedroom floor.

Marie was lying on her side in the bed sleeping. She had apparently cried herself to sleep, heartbroken. May and Lee exchanged sorrowful looks with each other, as they hated to see their sister in such a miserable state.

Lee placed a can of Pepsi on the dresser for her sister to drink when she eventually woke up. Lee walked over to the bed, and gently placed her hand on Marie's hair, stroking it gently so as to not wake her up.

"I love you baby sister." whispered Lee, "Don't you worry about a thing, we'll clear all of this up for ya."


	43. Chapter 43

**Chapter 43**

It was around 7:00 p.m. The sun had set a few hours ago and the darkness of night had once again cast its shadow over Rathink Court. It was a little shy of twelve hours since the blowup in the halls of Peach Creek Junior High, and the negative vibes caused by the intense emotions were still felt throughout the neighborhood.

Ed had just exited his house through his basement window, and was currently on his way to Double Dee's residence. Ed had already made a stop at Double Dees house earlier after his fight with Eddy and had attempted to reach Double Dee by entering his room through the window. The attempt was to no avail as Ed had climbed his drain pipe to find the window locked, and the blinds shut. His attempt to gain Double Dees attention by knocking on the front door was futile.

After a few unanswered telephone calls to Double Dees house, Ed had spent the last few hours sulking in his room, upset at the circumstances he was faced with. He loved Double Dee and Eddy, they were like brothers, two of the best brothers that he had never had. He couldn't believe that he had just had to make the difficult decision to choose between his two best friends. Nevertheless, even though Ed wasn't the best when it came to brains, he knew that Double Dee needed him, and that there was no excuse for Eddy's cruelty towards Double Dee and Marie.

Ed walked up the gravel path to Double Dee's house, stopping in front of the large brown door. He pushed the illuminated door bell button, causing the sound of Westminster Chimes to resonate from within the two story colonial styled home.

It had been a few seconds since the sound of the door chime had ceased and Double Dee had still not opened the door. Ed was upset, and was about to turn around and head back home, when he heard the sound of the doorknob turning. The door began opening while emitting a short squeaky sound, at which point, an extremely tired Double Dee emerged from behind the door.

The two boys stared at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly, Ed's lower lip shook and he began whimpering.

"DOUBLE DEE!" yelled Ed as he ran into his friends arms and gave him a gigantic bear hug. Double Dee was quite surprised as he was not prepared to be lifted off of the ground in such a tight squeeze.

"I'm so sorry Double Dee, can you ever forgive me, you are my bestest friend in the whole wide world!" yelled Ed, "I didn't want this to happen, and now we are all not friends anymore. We were like the three amigos, three peas in a shoe, mashed potatos with three spoons of gravy!"

Double Dee stared at his highly upset friend, who was kneeling on the ground with his hands buried in his face. Double Dee placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, who looked up into his eyes.

"Ed, I have absolutely no qualms with you whatsoever," said Double Dee

Ed's mood seemed to brighten up as Double Dee invited him into his house. Ed sat down on the living room couch, still appearing slightly upset, as Double Dee joined him..

"I know it was Eddy who was responsible for the events that transpired this morning is school." said Double Dee, "And quite frankly I am absolutely furious with him. I cannot even think straight!"

Double Dee turned to Ed quickly and put both of his hands on his shoulders.

"What has become of this world!" yelled Double Dee.

Ed had no idea what to do and watched as his good friend literally cried on his shoulder.

"Why Ed?" asked Double Dee, "Why did this have to happen?"

"There there Double Dee." said Ed in his dopey sounding voice, "Everything is going to be okay."

"How can you possibly think that everything is going to be alright?" asked Double Dee, "There will never be another degree of normalcy in this cul-de-sac!"

Double Dee paused. Ed was trying as hard as he could to ease Double Dee's emotional pain, and he was frustrated that he couldn't find the right words to be able to do so.

"I have lost the love of the most beautiful, thoughtful and kind hearted young woman in existence." said Double Dee, "And to make matters worse, she will probably never even speak to me again after the circumstances we were forced to deal with. And now I know that I cannot even trust someone who I have always viewed as my best friend."

Double Dee once again buried his face into his hands. Poor Ed couldn't help but feel extremely saddened by Double Dee's display of emotions. Double Dee had really loved Marie, and Ed felt extremely sorry for his friend.

Double Dee looked took his face out of his hands.

"I apologize for shouting Ed," said Double Dee, "I just can't believe that Eddy could have been so heartless. Marie was extremely sensitive about her condition, and Eddy had no right to poke fun at her with his immature antics."

Ed placed his hand on Double Dee's shoulder, while he smiled.

"Double Dee, I am your best pal!" yelled Ed, "And I'm gonna help you win her back as best as I can, if my name isn't Marvin K. Mooney."

Double Dee smiled up at his friend. Ed's idiosyncrasies had just managed to allow him to somehow blend a sentence of his own creation, a common idiom, and a Dr. Seuss character to create his previous statement. The two friends looked at each other and managed to share a chuckle. Double Dee no longer felt alone in this matter right now, and at least knew that he had had Ed's loyalty and trust with him.

Around the same time that Ed had arrived at Double Dees front door, May and Lee were making a special trip of their very own to Eddy's house. The girls snuck into his backyard quietly by hoping over the fence and proceeded to walk towards Eddy's large bedroom window.

"Are ya sure he's gonna be here Lee?" asked May.

"He better be, cause I'm ready to give the shrimp a piece of my mind!" yelled Lee.

The girls peered into Eddy's bedroom. Eddy had left the lights on, and they could clearly see everything in his room. Eddy was nowhere to be found.

"He's not here Lee," said May.

"No shit Sherlock!" said Lee as she walked over to the door to Eddy's room. Lee tugged on the handle, and to her surprise, the door unlatched relatively easy.

"It's open." said Lee, "Looks like that little sneaky stud forgot to lockup before he left."

Lee grinned and chuckled before she opened the door completely.

"Come on, let's see what he's got that we can use against him." said Lee.

May followed her sister into Eddy's room. The room was of a decent size; the walls were painted a bright shade of magenta, and the floor was lined with a white shag carpet. The white ceiling contained recessed spotlights that pointed toward a mirror ball hanging in the center of the room. His king sized circular bed was adorned with purple sheets, and his lava lamp sat on a nightstand located directly next to it. On the other side of the bed was a circular fireplace, which seemed to date to the 70's. Across from his bed next to the entrance of his closet, his record player sat on top of his large dresser.

The overall feel of the room screamed 1970's. Although the girls had been in the room before, this was the first time that they were able to take a good look at their surroundings.

"Geez, who does this guy think he is Austin Powers?" asked Lee as she and May chuckled, "Come on May, let's start snoopin." said Lee as she began going through Eddy's dresser.

May made her way through the piles of Eddy's clothes that were situated all throughout the room. She approached his nightstand and opened the top drawer. Inside the drawer was a pile of magazines, the first of which had its cover ripped off. At first glance the lengthy article that was on the first page hinted that it was an ordinary run of the mill magazine.

"What are these?" asked May as she picked up the first magazine.

Lee walked over to her sister, staring at the first page of the magazine. May used both of her hands to open it to a random page; needless to say she was surprised by an extremely graphic photograph of an unclothed female in a suggestive position.

"EWWWWW!" yelled May as she dropped the magazine on the floor.

Lee picked up the magazine and scanned through it, before turning her attention to the rest of the magazines that were stored in the drawer. The rest of the books did in fact have covers, which depicted females who were at least covering small portions of their skin.

"This guy really needs to get laid," said Lee who, despite her dirty mind, was extremely surprised with the amount of explicit material that she had found in Eddy's room, "If he wants it so bad, why didn't he just come to me, I could handle him way better than any of these girls could!"

Lee laughed heavily before picking up the whole pile of magazines.

"Here May, take these!" yelled Lee.

"Gross!" yelled May, "I'm not touching these, why do ya even want these anyway!"

Lee grinned at her sister.

"These magazines are obviously important to him if he has so many of them." said Lee, "If they managed to get lost, or let's say fell into the hands of his parents, the little shrimp would be devastated!"

Lee winked at May while she chuckled. May grinned back at her.

"Alright, but you're carrying them!" yelled May, "Who knows where these things have been!"

The girls placed the magazines down on the bed, and continued their search. Lee was sure to listen for the sound of footsteps in the hallway as they did so for Eddy's parents were in the house.

"Hey May, let's check in here!" said Lee as she walked over to Eddy's closet.

Lee quickly flung open the shudder-like doors that led into Eddy's large walk-in closet. May followed her in as they searched through all of Eddy s clothes.

"What the hell, this guy's got more clothes than us and we're girls!" said Lee as she laughed.

"And look, he's even got a pair of high heels!" yelled May.

Eddy in fact did have a pair of high heeled shoes in his closet. They were his mothers, yet somehow managed to end up in his closet by mistake. May picked the pair of shoes up off of the floor.

"Hey, these are pretty nice shoes!" she said as she examined them, "I might take these home for myself!"

The girls snickered, at which point Lee laid her eyes on a series of small brown boxes located on one of the shelves in Eddy's closet. Lee grabbed the three brown boxes off of the shelf and examined each of them one by one. The boxes were quite dusty and after a quick puff to blow some of the dust away, Lee was able to read their labels.

"What have we here?" said Lee, as she grinned slyly.

May walked over to her sister and stared at the boxes.

"Let's check it out." said May as the girls walked back out into Eddy's room. They placed the stack of boxes on Eddy's bed, and sat down to begin going through them.

The three boxes were labeled as follows: "Little Edward", "Little Michael", and "Family". The first two boxes undoubtedly contained photographs of the two McGee children as little boys; the last would contain photographs of the McGee family together.

"I think we hit the jackpot May!" said Lee as she took the lid off of the box labeled "Family"

The girls passed over a few photographs before they found a picture of the entire McGee family sitting on their living room couch. Young Eddy appeared to be around 5 years old, and was wearing a three piece suit. His hair was extremely long, and although it had somehow thinned out over the years, his hair was quite thick in the picture. He was sitting on a rather big boned woman's lap, who had short brown hair, and was smiling along with her youngest son. To her left was a rather large man, who appeared to have been at one point muscular, but let himself go and became overweight. Although the man had his arm around his wife, his face appeared extremely stern. The man's other arm was placed around the shoulder of a teenager who appeared to be around 16 years of age. The teenager greatly resembled Eddy, and appeared to be utterly miserable as if he wanted nothing to do with his family. He was dressed in all black, and wore a black ski hat. His lips and eyebrows were covered in various piercings, which had since been taken out.

Lee and May could care less about seeing the whole McGee family; their attention was on young Eddy and how much he looked like a little girl. The two girls cracked up.

"Oh my God!" said Lee as she laughed.

"Eddy's got longer hair than me!" yelled May.

The girls laughed some more before Lee confiscated the photograph.

"This is a keeper!" said Lee as she placed the photograph down her shirt, where she stored many things for safe keeping. She glanced over at her sister, before returning to searching through the boxes.

"Eddy likes using embarrassing pictures to hurt Marie's feelings?" said Lee, "Let's see how he likes it!"

"Right on Lee!" said May as she smiled.

Lee closed the "Family" box, finding nothing more of interest. She picked up the box labeled "Little Michael", and stared at it for a few seconds.

"So that's the big guy's name." said Lee while chuckling. May made no comment as Lee by passed that particular box and opened the box labeled "Little Eddy".

The girls went through the box, finding various pictures of an infant Eddy, as well as pictures of him as a toddler. None of the pictures were particularly embarrassing, and the girls were just about to give up until May stumbled on a highly unusual photograph. She began cracking up.

"What's so funny?" asked Lee, "Did ya get something!"

May laughed in a very adenoidal tone as she handed the picture to Lee. At the moment Lee laid eyes on the photograph, she began cracking up herself.

"Wow!" said Lee, "Whoever took this got him where the sun don't shine!"

Lee comment caused even more laughter from the two girls. Eventually, they calmed down, and Lee returned the boxes back to their proper area within Eddy's closet. She kept the photo of Eddy and stored it in a similar fashion to the previous picture she had found.

"I think we got enough!" said Lee, "Let's get outta here May."

As promised, Lee picked up the "girly" magazines from Eddy's bed and led her sister out of his room and into his back yard.

"Now we just gotta find the little shrimp." said Lee as she snickered, "I got some important things I gotta discuss with him."

"How are we gonna find him Lee?" asked May, "He could be anywhere!"

"It's easy," said Lee as she put her arm around her sister, "We'll just ask!"

May stood confused as Lee set the magazines she was holding down in a safe haven behind the bushes that sat next to the wooden fence that separated Eddy and Kevin's yards. Lee led May around to the front of Eddy's house and up the stone path to his front door.

"Now just play along!" said Lee.

Lee pushed the button next to the door, causing an audible "Ding Dong" sound to resonate from within the McGee residence. After a few moments, the door flung open. Standing behind it was the same large man that the girls had seen in the photograph. He was quite tall, around 6'5". His face contained the same protruding chin and pointy nose that he had undoubtedly passed on to both of his sons. In addition, he also seemed to be the parent who his boys inherited their stringy black hair from. He stared at Lee and May with a stern look on his face.

"Excuse me Mr. McGee." said Lee in a calm, sweet sounding voice completely uncharacteristic of her, "We are sorry to bother you, but we were just wondering if you knew where Eddy was."

Eddy's father stared at the two girls for a few seconds before he breathed a sigh of relief, after which he looked towards the ceiling and made the comment, "Thank you Lord."He was in fact relieved that two girls were at the door looking for his son, as he was beginning to think that Eddy was gay, something that Eddy's old school, conservative and domineering father would absolutely not tolerate in his house. He yelled into the house to ask his wife where Eddy was, with a deep powerful voice.

"Now I know where Eddy get's that big mouth from." whispered Lee to May as he conversed with his wife.

Eddy's mother had sent Eddy to the deli in the business district to pick up hoagies for dinner and expected him back shortly.

"Thank you so much Mr. McGee," said Lee in her sweet voice as Mr. McGee began to close the door to his house. The girls began walking down the path.

"Lee you are one sneaky bitch." said May jokingly.

"Save the complements for later May!" said Lee as she playfully punched her sister in the arm.

As the girls made their way back to grab the magazines while sharing laughs, Lee heard voices coming from behind her.

"Get down!" said Lee, "Someone's coming."

The voices the girls heard were in fact Ed and Double Dee exchanging goodbyes for the night. After a few moments, Ed passed by the bush that the girls were hiding in.

"Look May," said Lee, "It's your man."

"I know," said May, "Isn't he handsome."

Lee glanced at her sister, and noticed for the first time a certain look in her eyes as she watched Ed walk past their position towards his house. Lee had seen that wide eyed look before on Marie's face whenever she talked about Double Dee. Lee couldn't help but crack a smile, as at that moment she had discovered May's little secret.

As May was drooling over her crush, Lee came up with a course of action that would benefit herself, May and Marie all at the same time.

"Hey May," said Lee.

May continued staring at Ed as he approached his front lawn.

"Yo May!" said Lee as she gently punched her in the shoulder.

"What's up?" asked a slightly confused May.

"I got a little plan that I think will satisfy all of us." said Lee, "I'm gonna go wait in the lane for our little friend to come home from his night out on the town. When he walks by, I'm gonna grab him and we're gonna sit down for a nice long chat." Lee chuckled as she moved closer to her sister.

"Now here's what you're gonna do." said Lee, "We saw earlier today and just now that Big Ed is on Double Dee's side with this one. While I work with Eddy, I want you to go over to his house and have a little talk with the big guy about the way he feels about this whole thing."

Lee paused.

"Here's how it's gonna work out. I'll handle things on Marie's end and "politely convince" Eddy to join the fight. While I'm doing that, you two are gonna work on Double Dee."

May was surprised that Lee had 'assigned' her to work with Ed. She was very nervous about approaching Ed about this whole matter, although she had longed to speak to him on good terms.

"But Lee, why can't I work with you on Eddy!" yelled May, "I wanna teach him a lesson too."

Lee put her arm on May's shoulder while grinning into her face.

"Trust me May," said Lee, "I think you'll be much happier being partnered with Ed!"

Lee winked at May, who sat speechless. She had no problem with Lee knowing that she harbored an intense genuine crush on Ed, but she had no idea it would be so easy for Lee to figure it out. May questioned Lee's realization.

"But how did you fin…"

"Don't worry about the details!" yelled Lee, cutting her sister off.

Both girls smiled at each other before Lee broke the silence.

"Alright, let's go!" said Lee as she got up off of the ground, "We got work to do!"

The sisters shared a hug as they split up to carry out their respective duties. As May marched towards Ed's front door, Lee picked up Eddy's stash of magazines and proceeded to the dark alleyway, where she would wait to carry out her plan. Eddy had absolutely no idea what he was in for.


	44. Chapter 44

**Chapter 44**

Around five minutes before Lee took her place hiding in the lane under the cover of darkness, Eddy had begun his long walk home through town. Eddy was still furious about Ed's betrayal, as he had thought that Ed's friendship was unconditional, and was currently cursing Ed inside his mind as he walked down the quiet streets of Peach Creek.

Ten minutes had passed, and Lee had finally begun to hear footsteps approaching her position. She peered around the corner to see the young man she was waiting for walking briskly towards the alleyway. He was right where she wanted him.

Lee pulled out a dollar bill and threw it out onto the pavement while snickering. Eddy smiled as the bill came into view and began running to claim his lucky prize.

"Jackpot!" said Eddy to as he bent down to pick the dollar off of the ground, "Finally something good happened today.

"Don't worry, it's only gonna get better!" said the voice of Lee from the alleyway.

Before Eddy had the chance to react, he felt two hands grab him around the shoulders. He peered down to see the rusty red fingernails of Lee digging into his skin. Lee dragged Eddy into the alley, and threw him into the trash cans that were sitting outside of the gates to Kevin's yard. The collision between Eddy's body and the trash cans caused a rather loud crash. Eddy had dropped Lee's dollar on the ground in the midst of all of the commotion; Lee gladly reclaimed her money.

Lee ran up to Eddy, picked him up off of the ground, and slammed him into the fence by his shoulders, staring intently into his eyes.

"Hey Lee, whatsup, nice night huh?" asked Eddy in an extremely nervous tone of voice.

"Alright shrimp!" said Lee, "I get the feelin that you think I'm too stupid to realize that you were the one behind all of that funny business that happened this morning between Marie and Double Dee!"

Eddy stared at Lee like a deer caught in the headlights. For the first time ever, his notorious loud mouth could not find any words to say. He was essentially helpless at the moment.

" "As I recall, we had a little understandin' that you wouldn't try any funny business behind my back!" said Lee, "I think it's time that ya get what's comin to ya for embarrassing Marie."

Eddy winced in fear as Lee began lifting her arm up, expecting a punch to the face. Lee took notice that Eddy was bracing himself for a strike.

"Relax half pint." said Lee as she giggled, "I ain't gonna hit ya."

Lee leaned into the frightened Eddy's face. She brushed the hair out of her eyes, granting Eddy his first glance at her blue irises.

"In fact, since your such a cute little shrimp, I'm gonna cut ya a little deal." said Lee.

"Oh yeah, what is it?" asked Eddy with a slight hint of attitude.

"I'll tell ya in a minute." said Lee, "But first, I have to take care of some other business."

Lee reached down into her shirt and pulled out the two pictures that she had confiscated from Eddy's room. She fanned the pictures out like cards and held them in front of her face, pretending to inspect them.

"I gotta hand it to ya, you were a cute kid." said Lee as she chuckled. Lee held out the photographs for Eddy to see. As soon as Eddy laid eyes on the photos, a fearful expression came over his face.

"Hey how'd ya get those!" yelled Eddy as he reached for the pictures, "Give em back!"

"Whoah, not so fast!" yelled Lee as she placed the pictures back down her shirt, "I'm gonna be holdin on to these for a little while."

Lee walked over to Eddy and leaned into his face once again.

"See, where I come from, we do things body blow for body blow," said Lee, "What you did to Marie was just wrong, and tomorrow morning, you're gonna feel the same horrible feeling that ya made her go through."

Lee giggled.

"I'm so sorry," said Lee sarcastically, "But that's just the way thing go!"

The last thing that Eddy wanted was for the pictures to be shown to the entire school. He attempted to reason with the red headed Kanker sister.

"Please, I'm sorry!" yelled Eddy as he dropped to his knees in prayer stance, "I'll do anything, please, just don't show those pictures!"

Lee laughed.

"As much as I've always wanted a man to beg me, I'm afraid that ya really have no say in this one!" said Lee.

Lee laughed as Eddy sat silent sitting on the ground. She began walking towards the trash cans that she had thrown Eddy into around five minutes ago.

"Lucky for you," said Lee, "I'm feeling very pitiful for you right now, so I'm gonn make ya a deal."

Lee leaned down behind the trash cans, and picked up the pile of Eddy's magazines. Eddy's eyes widened when he realized that his prized possessions were now in the hands of his arch nemesis.

"My MAGAZINES!" yelled Eddy.

Lee paged through the magazines, making faces as she did so.

"C'mon Eddy," said Lee playfully, "These girls are amateurs, if ya really wanted a good time, ya coulda stopped over the trailer when May and Marie weren't home!"

Lee laughed heavily as Eddy stared at his precious magazines.

"What are ya gonna do with them?" asked Eddy fearfully.

"Let's see," said Lee, "I can burn them, I can….give them out to all of the other desperate guys around here….or….I could arrange it so they wind up in the hands of those folks you call 'mom and dad.'"

Eddy's stomach dropped. He would do anything for Lee not to let his parents know that he was keeping dirty magazines in his room.

"Please, I'll do anything!" yelled Eddy, once again begging Lee, "Just don't tell my parents!"

"Now were makin progress!" said Lee as she giggled, "Alright first things first. Spill it! I wanna know how all of this happened, including how ya got your hands on those pictures of Marie."

Eddy spent a few minutes telling Lee the entire story of how he plotted against Double Dee and Marie, including how he manipulated the kids into helping him create the flyers. Once Eddy had finished, Lee continued her interrogation.

"Wow, If I wasn't so pissed at ya right now, I'd congratulate ya on a job well done!" said Lee jokingly.

"Can I please have my magazines back now?" asked Eddy.

"Not quite yet, there's still one more thing we gotta discuss," said Lee, "Tomorrow night, you're gonna come over to the trailer, and apologize to Marie for what ya did. Then, your gonna help me bring our two lovebirds back together!"

Even though Eddy was at the mercy of Lee, anger was still building up inside of him. He couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Since when did you start caring so much about Double Dee and Marie being together!" yelled Eddy, "What the hell, you're the one who came up with a plan to break them up in the first place!"

Lee pinned Eddy against the fence and stared intently into his eyes.

"Listen Eddy," whispered Lee in a calm voice, "There are so many stupid things people because they are selfish and jealous of what others have that they don't."

Lee paused

"The day after the fight, I had a serious talk with May and Marie. Long story short, strong words were exchanged, and even though I treated Marie like crap the previous night, she was still there for me. I knew right then I had to be there for her too."

Lee leaned into Eddy, until her lips were almost touching his.

"Go home tonight and really try to think about things," said Lee, "I have a feeling that even if I didn't have these magazines in my hand, you'd have the same realization as I did."

Lee grinned and then quickly leaned into Eddy, pecking him on the lips. Eddy was too dumbfounded by Lee's words to realize that he had just received his first kiss on the lips, even though it was with someone he probably didn't want to share it with.

"So do we have a deal?" asked Lee.

Eddy looked up into Lee's eyes. She widened them and cocked her head to the side, waiting for an answer. Eddy groaned and pouted before holding his hand out to shake Lee's hand.

"I just knew you'd understand!" said Lee, back to her usually gravely voice.

Lee looked down at the books she was holding, before looking back up at Eddy.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have to hold on to these until ya hold up your end of the deal." said Lee as she grinned slyly.

Eddy groaned under his breath.

"Geez, don't worry, it's not gonna kill ya if ya don't yank it for one night!" yelled Lee as she laughed.

"Meet me at lunch tomorrow behind the school, and we'll talk about how were gonna do this." said Lee as she began walking away. She turned around and grinned at Eddy.

"And be there….or kiss you precious girlfriends goodbye."

Lee laughed as she turned around walking away from a speechless Eddy. Lee had somehow left an impression in him that none of the other kids were able to. He was no longer filled with hatred, or anger; at this point an overwhelming feeling of guilt was flowing through his body. As much as he tried, Eddy couldn't shake the horrible feelings as he picked up his dinner and continued on his way back to his house, alone with his thoughts.

At the same time that Lee had begun her conversation with Eddy, May Kanker-Lonergan was on her way up the concrete path that led to Ed's front door. Although May had wanted to talk to Ed on good terms, she was completely unprepared to be placed in that position so soon. Her stomach was filled with butterflies as she, for the first time, walked up to the Fullerton's forest green Cape Cod style house. She took a deep breath, and pressed the illuminated button to activate the door bell. The doorbell chime was simply a slow "ding dong" that sounded as if it was emitted from an electronic speaker. May quickly ran her fingers through her hair, as a last ditch effort to make sure that she looked presentable.

"I'll get it!" yelled the obnoxious voice of Sarah from inside.

After a few seconds, the door had finally unlatched and opened. May found herself staring down into Ed's fiery red headed little sisters face. The two girls stood stunned, Sarah had never expected May Kanker to be standing on the other side of her door.

"Um…Hi." said May.

"Hi." said Sarah

There was silence for a few seconds.

"I guess you want my idiot brother." said Sarah.

May paused before answering.

"Well, yeah um…that would be great." said May.

"Go around back," said Sarah, "You'll see a window leading into his basement room. He's probably down there watching some stupid movie that he saw a million times."

May paused, contemplating Sarah's statement.

"Okay, then…"

May was cut off, as Ms. Fullerton had yelled to Sarah asking her who was at the door. Sarah saw the perfect opportunity to embarrass Ed.

"It's Ed's girlfriend Mommy!" yelled Sarah.

May's cheeks filled with a fiery red after Sarah's words had sunk into her ears.

Ed's mother quickly came to the door to meet the girl who Sarah claimed was Ed's girlfriend. Ms. Fullerton, being the amiable person she was, greeted May with open arms. May and Ms. Fullerton became acquainted, and May found herself being invited into her house. After getting May a glass of soda from the kitchen, Ms. Fullerton led May to the basement door, and informed her that Ed was down in his room. May reluctantly began walking down the stairs to Ed's basement room. Her heart was racing as she gauged her surroundings. The basement was lined with the same wood paneling that her trailer was lined with, and there was a single light bulb hanging from a wire above the staircase, illuminating the whole washroom.

May approached the brown wooden door to Ed's room, immediately noticing the large red sign that he had hung on it that read "DANGER" in addition to a smaller triangular sign that read "Slow Moving Traffic." May's mind fought her heart, and her heart managed to win. She reluctantly knocked on Ed's door.

"Be right there mom!" yelled Ed from inside. May heard loud footsteps as Ed ran over to the door and flung it open. The smile that adorned Ed's face immediately turned into a frown when he laid his eyes on May. May stared back into Ed's fearful eyes and managed to muster up the courage to begin speaking.

"Um….Hiya Ed!" said May as she blushed.

Ed merely stood in his door way dumbfounded.

"Listen Ed, I really need to talk to you." said May, as she began walking into his room.

Ed grabbed one of his voodoo masks off of the wall, as well as the hockey stick he had used a few days ago to play with his friends. He placed the voodoo mask on his face and pointed the hockey stick at May's chest.

"STAY BACK EVIL WOMAN!" yelled Ed.

"Ed…please…" said May as she continued walking towards Ed. Ed, still with the hockey stick pointing at May's chest began backing up as May continued walking forward.

"I'm really not here to hurt you, or to kiss you or do any of that stupid stuff I did before!" yelled May gently.

"Don't come any closer!" yelled Ed as he continued backing up. Eventually Ed had nowhere else to go, as his back was pressed up against the wall.

"Please spare me youngest Kanker sister!" yelled Ed.

May needed to calm Ed down. She couldn't blame him for his fear of her, but she had something that she needed to do. Her duty to her sister came first, and she had to get Ed to listen to her.

"Alright!" yelled May, "Listen up bub!"

May yanked the hockey stick out of Ed's hand and tossed it across the room. May chuckled in her own mind, as her actions had reminded her very much of Lee. Ed curled his arms around himself bracing for the sloppy kisses that he was expecting to receive.

"I'm not gonna do anything to you Ed. I'm here to help Double Dee!" said May.

May's last statement managed to calm Ed down slightly. He was no longer curled up in fear, and was standing quite relaxed.

May walked away from him and proceeded to sit down on his bed. Although Ed was relieved that May hadn't tried any "lovey dovey stuff" as he called it, he was still quite uncomfortable with her being in his room.

"Marie really loved Double Dee Ed." said May, "And now their broken up, she's mad at him, and it wasn't even his fault!"

Ed stood staring at May as she continued speaking.

"I really hate seeing Marie so sad," said May as she looked up into Ed's eyes, "And I think that you hate seeing Double Dee sad too."

May was gradually gaining Ed's trust. He began walking towards her with a concerned expression on his face, and eventually sat down on his bed next to her.

"That's why I came over here," said May, "I really want to help get Marie and Double Dee back together. Double Dee is such a nice guy, and Marie really liked him. Things were so much better when they were together."

May paused, at which point she looked up into Ed's eyes, blushing as she did so.

"So, Ed," said May, "Would you like to help me get Marie and Double Dee back together?"

Ed sat in silence, staring at May with what seemed to be a fearful expression. May was slightly heartbroken that she had made Ed so fearful of her, due to her horrible actions in the past. She would do anything to go back in time and make a better first impression on him.

May was about to give up and leave, when she felt Ed's hand touch her shoulder. She looked up at Ed's face; he was now smiling. May smiled back up at him.

"A friend of Double Dee's is a friend of mine!" yelled Ed as he grabbed May and squeezed her in a tight bear hug, picking her up off of the bed. Even though the hug was rather tight, May couldn't help but feel on top of the world as she leaned her head on Ed's shoulder.

Ed placed May back down on the floor and looked her in the eyes once again. May was blushing heavily, which Ed had taken notice of.

"May, your face is as red as me and Sarah's hair, are you okay?" asked Ed.

Ed's naïve questioning had slightly embarrassed May, causing her to blush even heavier. She had no idea what else to say.

"So what are we gonna do to help our pals May?" asked Ed.

May had not even considered any kind of plan prior to Ed posing his last question. She had usually left all of the planning up to the more cunning Lee.

"I don't know Ed." said May as she looked down at her feet, "Maybe we should get together at lunch tomorrow in school and talk about it."

May couldn't believe that she had just invited Ed to join her for lunch. The words had carelessly slipped out of her mouth, and she was sure that Ed would say no. A few moments passed before Ed chimed in.

"Your wish is my middle toe!" yelled Ed as he smiled at May.

"Great," said May as she blushed. She was now choking on her words, and didn't want to embarrass herself any longer.

"Um…I guess I'll see you tomorrow in school then?" said May as she began making her way towards Ed's window.

"Sure thing!" said Ed as he watched May walk towards the window.

"Okay then." said May as she turned around to the window. The window was close to the ceiling, and a good 6 feet away from the floor; May who was 5'4" tall, was simply too short to reach the base of the window without jumping.

May jumped and managed to grab a hold of the window. Although she tried as hard as she could, she didn't have the strength to hold herself up. She began to feel herself slipping downward, at which point she felt a pair of hands grab her hips. May turned around to see Ed helping her lift herself out the window, an extremely gentlemanly gesture; May couldn't help but melt inside.

"Going up!" said Ed in his dopey voice as he pushed May up through the window, at which point she stood up outside on his grass.

"Thanks Ed." said May as she leaned down into his window.

The blonde haired Kanker sister and large Ed boy stared at each other for a few moments before May broke the silence.

"Well…..good night!" said May as she began walking through Ed's backyard towards the fence that led to the lane.

"Good night, sleep tight and don't let those bed bugs bite!" yelled Ed as he returned to his monster movie. May couldn't help but smile and chuckle at Ed's statement.

May climbed over the fence and dropped into the lane, which was dark to the point of almost being pitch black. May's excitement due to the events that just transpired caused her to begin dancing around the lane, performing pirouettes and fouettes, smiling from ear to ear. She felt like she was the happiest girl in the world. Ed had not only just voluntarily given her a hug, but he had just referred to her as a friend. It wasn't love, but it was a long way from the fear based relationship they previously had.

May's dreams were broken when she inadvertently collided with Lee, who had just finished up her time with Eddy.

"Whoah there Anna Pavolva!" shouted Lee playfully.

"Sorry Lee," said May, rather embarrassed that she was caught in such an unusual situation.

"I can tell it went well for ya!" said Lee as she snickered, "C'mon, let's go home."

The girls jumped the fence to the trailer park, and made their way over to the silver and blue caravan that they called home. Lee opened the door and entered, May following her in shortly after.

The girls entered the trailer to find Marie sitting on the couch with her chin resting in the palms of her hands, watching TV. She had finally gotten out of bed, but was still completely heartbroken. Lee placed Eddy's magazines in May's hands and quietly motioned for her to take them upstairs and hide them in the closet.

"Hey Marie." said Lee in a gentle voice as she walked over to the couch. She sat down next to her sister.

"Do ya wanna talk?" asked Lee.

Marie turned her head and looked into her sisters eyes. She began whimpering for a few seconds, after which tears began flowing down her face. Lee reached her arms out and embraced her sister.

"You were right Lee!" said Marie, "You and mom were right about men!"

"Marie!" yelled Lee, "Don't you dare say that!"

"He played me like a fool," said Marie, "I really fell for him too!"

"Marie, you have to listen to me," said Lee, "Double Dee is innocent. I know it sounds weird, but the whole thing was Eddy's idea."

"Then how did he get the pictures?" yelled Marie.

"Eddy stole them from his room while he was in the bathroom." said Lee.

"Sure!" said Marie, "Sound's like he's tryin' to put the blame on someone else!"

"No, Marie you don't understand, Eddy told me tha.…"

"I don't want to talk about him," yelled Marie as she got up off of the couch.

"Marie, please!" yelled Lee.

"I hate him!" yelled Marie, "I don't ever want to hear his name or see his stupid face ever again!"

Marie ran up the stairs in tears, passing May who was currently descending the stairs. The girls stared at each other as they felt the whole trailer shake from the force of Marie slamming the door to the bedroom.

"Well that went well." said Lee sarcastically, as May reached the bottom of the stairs and sat next to Lee on the couch.

"She's so goddamn stubborn!" said Lee as she pounded her fists on her knees, "I damn well know that she didn't mean it when she said she hated him. If she really hated him, she wouldn't be this upset over the breakup!"

"How do we deal with this Lee?" asked May.

Lee contemplated for a few moments, before an idea sprung into her head.

"Marie and Double Dee were close." said Lee, "Here's what your gonna do. You and Big Ed are gonna go over his house tomorrow after school, and convince him to come over to talk to her himself. Maybe the sound of his voice will actually allow her to listen to reason."

The girls paused before looking each other in the eye.

"Sound like a plan?" asked Lee.

May smiled at Lee before the two girls shared a hug. After they pulled away, Lee grinned.

"We better get to bed, cause we gotta get up bright and early tomorrow!" said Lee.

"What for Lee?" asked May.

Lee reached down her shirt, and pulled out the photographs of Eddy that she had stolen from his room. She looked into her sisters eyes as she smiled. She uttered the words.

"We're gonna make some flyers of our very own."


	45. Chapter 45

**Chapter 45**

It was Thursday morning, and the morning sun had rose over Peach Creek estates at approximately 6:45 a.m.

While the rest of the Peach Creek spent the night immersed in their dreams, Double Dee had been up all night, thinking about the horrible predicament that he was in. He longed to feel Marie next to him, to hear her, to see her face. He wanted to turn back time, and prevent any of this senseless drama from happening. Most of all, he felt horrible for Marie, who was forced to endure yet another taste of the bullying she had endured as a little girl.

Marie had spent her night thinking about how wrong things have gone as well. She thought that she could trust Double Dee, and that he was the perfect guy. Not only was she hurt that Double Dee had made a fool out of her, but she was quite possibly even more upset that she was made fun of about her eye. Marie would need time before she was ready to step foot back into her school environment, so she had already declared to her sisters before bed that she would not be attending school. Nevertheless, deep down in the bottom of her heart, there was still hope that Double Dee was too much of a gentleman to hurt her as bad as he did; she just needed someone or something to help her to dig it out.

The morning at Peach Creek Junior High was quite a somber one. Although Ed and Kevin had made amends with Double Dee, a great amount of emotional tension still filled the air. An extremely tired Double Dee was at his locker, exchanging his books as Ed approached him from behind.

"Hiya Double Dee!" said Ed in an enthusiastic tone.

"Oh, Hello Ed." said Double Dee as he turned around, before closing his locker and locking it.

"I made you something that will bring a smile to your face." said Ed as he dug through his pocket and pulled out a homemade card. The cover simply read:

I hope you feel better Double Dee.

"Thank you Ed," said Double Dee, "Your kind gesture in greatly appreciated."

Double Dee sighed.

"As much as I enjoy the fact that someone cares enough to attempt to lift my spirits, I am afraid that there is nothing in this world that will fill the void that was left when I lost Marie's love."

Ed could not find any words to say, as he watched his friend pick up his backpack and walk somberly down the hallway towards home room, bidding him farewell. He wanted to help his friend as best he could, and wished that he more brainpower to be able to do so.

"Double Dee's still hurtin huh Ed?" asked Kevin who had approached him from the back. Ed turned around to face him.

"I wish I could help him Kevin!" yelled Ed, "Double Dee is now just an empty shell of who he was just like the lobster people after Slug-u-La consumed their fleshy innards on planet Gorf!"

"Right," said Kevin, who had no idea of how to respond to Ed's lengthy movie reference, he put his hand on Ed's shoulder.

"Look man, I know how he feels," said Kevin, "Nazz won't even let me get a word in edge wise. The more I try to explain what happened, the more she tries to ignore me."

Ed stood listening to Kevin as he talked about his problems for a few minutes, at which point Eddy had finally entered the main hall of the school. The extremely fatigued Eddy stared forward as he made his way down the hallway, on his way to his locker. Unspoken tensions radiated between the boys, as he walked past Kevin and Ed, stopping at his locker to exchange his books.

"Damn," said Kevin, "He looks like crap!"

As Eddy began fumbling with his lock, he had not taken notice that Lee and May Kanker had walked up to him from behind.

"Mornin' little man!" said Lee as she snickered, "How was your night?"

Eddy closed his locker and turned around, looking up into Lee's eyes. Lee had never seen the look that she had currently saw in Eddy's eyes at the moment. Quite frankly, she felt sorry for him even though she was angry that he had embarrassed her sister in front of the entire school.

"Geez, ya look like shit , what's the matter didn't ya get any sleep?" asked Lee.

Eddy began to pick his book bag up off of the floor. He glanced up at Lee, and then at May. He scanned the hallway and met eyes with Ed and Kevin, who both looked away from him as if ignoring him.

What no one had known was that Eddy had been up all night analyzing Lee's words, in particular a few words of wisdom that she had shared with him last night in the alley,

"There are so many stupid things people do because they are selfish and jealous of what others have that they don't."

As Eddy lied in his bed thinking things over, he had come to the conclusion that Lee Kanker was completely right. Eddy had finally realized the error of his ways, and he didn't want his friendship with Double Dee to end in such a horrible way. It was time to take action. Eddy began walking towards the middle of the hallway.

"Yo, where ya goin?" asked Lee, "Don't you wanna see what we made for ya?"

Lee pointed to the stack of fliers that she and May and made as a retaliation for what he had done to Marie. Eddy turned around to face her, and finally began speaking.

"Do whatever you want, I deserve it" said Eddy, "But before ya do I have something to say,"

Eddy stepped out into the middle of the hallway.

"Everyone!" yelled Eddy, "I have something to say!"

All of the children of the cul-de-sac turned their attention towards Eddy, waiting to hear what the young boy could possibly have to say for himself this time.

"As you all know, yesterday I passed out fliers that made fun of Marie Kanker. It was all my fault, and I was wrong!" said Eddy,

Eddy turned his attention to Nazz who was standing at her locker,

"Nazz, Kevin had nothing to do with any of it. I tricked him following me into it, and if it wasn't for me scamming him, he would have accepted the relationship with no problem. Please don't be mad at him."

Eddy turned his attention back towards the crowd as a whole. The students watched as for the first time, Eddy showed concern for something other than money and his pride.

"I was jealous." said Eddy, "Jealous of my best friend. So I made up the whole scam to break him and Marie up. I never thought that Double Dee would be able to get a girl before me, and when he did, I was hurt. I had this whole idea that I was this suave ladies man that could get any girl I wanted, and when Double Dee broke the news to me, my pride was torn in two. And no, this had nothing to do with Marie. I would have probably gotten mad over any girl he was with."

Eddy paused as he caught his breath, he was attempting to hold back tears as well. As he regained his composure, a few more of Lee's words popped into his head,

"Even though I treated Marie like crap the previous night, she was still there for me. I knew right then I had to be there for her too."

Eddy continued using those heartfelt words as a guide.

"Double Dee was the first one there for me when my brother humiliated me in front of all of you last summer. He was the one who helped me see that everything was going to be alright, and helped me be able to see where I was wrong. And I was too stupid to realize that it was my time to be there for him. If I would have been there for him, we'd still be friends, and he'd still have the love of his life. He even asked me to get to know Marie, and find out how nice of a person she really was. But my stupid pride wouldn't let me. I failed him as a friend."

Eddy paused.

"The real victim of this is Marie. There was no reason me to embarrass her like I did. I hope that one day she can forgive me."

Eddy paused while trying as hard as he could to hold back his tears. Ed, Kevin, Nazz, and the two Kanker sisters stood in awe as they watched Eddy pour his heart out. Eddy had just shown that he cared for something other than his ego, and there was no denying that his words were genuine.

"That's all I have to say, I am really sorry for everything. I considered you guys my best friends…..I guess I should have really treated ya like best friends." said Eddy.

Eddy turned around and began walking towards home room, passing the Kanker sisters along the way. He stopped in front of Lee, looking at her directly in the face. Lee had been too busy pursuing her own interests to catch a glimpse of Eddy's first emotional realization last summer, but she had no reason not to observe this one. She was shocked that the proud Eddy was able to admit his wrong doings with such powerful words. She stared into Eddy's eyes as he looked back into hers.

"I guess you can pass those pictures out now Lee." said Eddy, as he began walking away, leaving the two sisters stunned.

"And you can keep the magazines," said Eddy, "Get rid of them or give them to the other kids, I don't need them anymore."

With those words, Eddy turned the corner towards homeroom, and disappeared out of view, leaving the entire hallway in silence. After a few minutes, the kids continued their conversations amongst themselves and May turned to Lee.

"So I guess I'll start giving these out." said May as she began walking to hand the embarrassing flyers out to the kids. She had not gone two steps before Lee grabbed her arm stopping her. May turned her attention to her sister, who was looking into her eyes with a blank stare.

"No need to." said Lee, "I think my little dreamboat learned his lesson."

Lee opened her locker and shoved the incriminating fliers into it, keeping them completely out of sight. Lee snickered to herself; her ingenious plan had really worked. Her idea to blackmail Eddy was nothing more than a backup plan. Lee knew that the right words would jar some sense into Eddy, and she had succeeded in allowing him to realize the error of his ways. She had known that Eddy couldn't have been that heartless, especially towards his best friends. She had accomplished the first part of her plan to reunite Marie and Double Dee, which was to first reunite Eddy with his group of friends.

After a long day of awkward tensions, it was finally time for lunch. Double Dee had been selected to help the chemistry lab technician prepare solutions for the students, so he would be forced to skip today's lunch.

Ed was the first person to enter the lunch room, carrying his brown lunch bag containing a sandwich that his mother had made with care that morning. For the first time, he really felt alone as he claimed a table towards the middle of the lunchroom and began eating lunch without his two best pals. A few moments later, Kevin joined him. The two boys gave their hellos, yet had nothing to say as they began eating their lunch.

"Room for one more?" asked an adenoidal voice from behind Ed. The boys looked up to see May Kanker standing behind Ed, politely asking to join him for lunch. Ed kept his promise he had made to her last night and moved over, granting May a seat on the bench next to her.

"So Ed?" asked May shyly, "How was your day?"

Ed had no idea what to say. His shyness around girls coupled with the awkwardness caused by speaking to a Kanker sister on good terms left him speechless. He finally managed to utter a few words.

"Um…it was good." said Ed.

May chuckled and blushed.

"I'm glad." she replied back,

"Alright you two!" yelled the voice of Lee as she slammed her lunch tray onto the table, "Enough chit chat, we got work to do!"

Kevin watched fearfully as Lee took a seat directly next to him.

"Don't worry, I ain't gonn do nothin'" said Lee to Kevin, "I'm just here to make sure these two don't blow my plan to get our little lovebirds back together."

Lee laughed as Kevin nodded fearfully as if giving the okay for her to be there.

"So what do we do Lee?" asked May.

"Alright, here's what I want ya to do," said Lee, "I want you two to go over his house today after school, and try to convince him to come over the trailer to talk to Marie. If she hears his voice, she'll melt away inside and might actually want to listen to some reason."

Just as Lee had finished her statement, the doors to the cafeteria opened. Eddy emerged from behind the doors, carrying a brown paper bag. He walked across the cafeteria with an empty table in sight on the far side. Lee took notice that Eddy was attempting to isolate himself from his friends, and decided that it was time for them to properly reconcile.

"For cryin out loud." said Lee as she got up and walked over to Eddy. "Yo Eddy!"

Eddy turned around to see Lee approaching. She grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him towards the table she had been sitting at.

"Sit down, stay awhile!" yelled Lee as she forced Eddy to sit down on the bench next to her.

Eddy looked up into Ed's face, which was adorned with a blank stare. He decided that there was only one course of action to take, and that was to try to win his friends back.

"Hey Ed," said Eddy, "Listen, I want to help Double Dee too. I don't want our friendships to end like this and I want Double Dee to be happy."

Eddy held his hand out to Ed, with a tear in his eye.

"So what do ya say,…are we pals again?"

Ed contemplated for a few seconds before grabbing Eddy's hand and shaking it, with a tear in his eye as well.

"We are pals once more!" yelled Ed "Let's help Double Dee!"

Eddy turned his attention to Kevin, who was sitting next to him.

"Listen Kev," said Eddy, "I'm sorry I tricked you, and broke you and Nazz up. I didn't even mean to do it. You know, it's funny I hated your guts last summer, and now that I got to know ya, it's like were the same people, like brothers. So why let all of that go? Can we put this all behind us?"

Kevin placed his sandwich down on the table and turned towards Eddy. He thought for a few minutes before he made his decision. Seeing Eddy McGee get up in front of the whole hallway and admit that he was jealous let Kevin know that Eddy was truly sorry for what he had done.

"Alright dork," said Kevin, "But the next time you pull a stunt like this, I'm not gonna ask any questions, I'm just gonna pound ya!"

Kevin and Eddy shared a slight chuckle before exchanging handshakes.

"Dude," said Eddy, "I'm really sorry about Nazz. I'll try to talk to her and convince her that you didn't do anything wrong.."

"You don't have to" said a familiar voice from behind the boys, the boys turned around to see Nazz standing behind Kevin smiling. Kevin quickly attempted to reason with Nazz once again.

"Nazz, uh…I'm sorry for everything…I didn't mean…"

"Just shut up and come and eat lunch with me….dork!" said Nazz playfully as she chuckled and walked away from their table.

"Go" said Eddy as Kevin stared at him smiling, "Get outta here big chin! Go get her back!"

Eddy playfully pushed Kevin away from him. Kevin grinned as he grabbed his lunch and stepped over the bench, on his way to reconcile with Nazz.

"I just love happy endings." said Lee sarcastically as she snickered.

"Well we ain't home free yet," said Eddy, "C'mon, we got some serious planning to help Double Dee and Marie.'"

"Alright" yelled Lee, "But let me just make one thing clear so you don't get any funny ideas. This is just until Double Dee and Marie are back to prancing around the neighborhood in love. Don't ya even think that this means we're friends."

"Huh, that would be the day!" yelled Eddy, "Like I'd ever want to be friends with you!"

Ed and May watched as Eddy and his Kanker counterpart bickered before May eventually chimed in.

"GUYS!" she yelled in her obnoxious voice, "Come on don't forget about what we're here for!"

May's words silenced the argument that was ensuing between the fiery red head and the short McGee boy. Today's lunch period would mark the first time that the Ed's and the Kanker sisters shared space voluntarily as a group. Even though they had had quite the turbulent past, the Kanker girls and Ed boys were able to put their differences aside to help their sister and best friend respectively.

After around a half hour of discussing, the lunch bell had finally rung, signaling the children to head to their first afternoon class. The group stood up and picked up their book bags preparing to leave the lunchroom. As the kids began to scatter, Eddy approached Lee.

"Listen," said Eddy, "Thanks for not passing out those pictures. You probably really should have."

"No sweat little man," said Lee, "I just couldn't bring myself to do it after that cute little speech of yours."

Lee laughed sarcastically, after which she leaned into Eddy's ear.

"Besides, I knew all along that you weren't that scheming little cheapskate you made yourself out to be." said Lee softly.

Lee laughed and licked Eddy's earlobe, causing chill to run down his spine.

"See ya tonight at the the trailer!" yelled Lee as she walked away laughing.

Ed's first afternoon class happened to be English class; a class that he shared with May. As Ed made his way out of the cafeteria, May ran to catch up to him.

"Ed, wait up!" yelled May as she ran. Ed, although accustomed to running away at the sound of May's voice, stopped to wait for the little blonde teenager to catch up.

"Hi May!" Ed said enthusiastically, even though he had just spent the last 45 minutes sitting next to her.

"Hi Ed…."said May while blushing.

"Boy May, aren't you excited to see Double Dee and Marie happy again?" asked Ed, "I really miss my pal!"

"I can't wait either Ed." said May, "I just hope that our plan works."

May paused before she posed a question.

"So Ed, do you think we should meet after school and walk to Double Dee's together." asked a very nervous May."

"No need to walk missy," said Ed in his usual "happy-go-lucky" tone of voice , "I have brought my bike, and pegs it does have!"

May smiled at the thought of her standing on Ed's back pegs with her arms on his shoulders as they rode through town. While most girls dreamed of holding their crushes hand to declare their love, the thought of May riding on Ed's pegs gave her that same exact feeling. Her dream had come true.

"That's great!" said May as she blushed.

"Boy May, pretty soon Double Dee and Marie will be a happy couple once more!" yelled an excited Ed, "They will hold hands as they wal…."

Ed became silent. In the midst of his excitement, he had inadvertently grabbed May's hand, while acting out his statements May glanced down to see her right hand being held within the clutches of Ed's left hand. The boy and girl stood in the middle of the hallway staring at each other, both blushing heavily as they made eye contact. They quickly let go of each other's hands.

Ed and May eventually regained their composure, and continued their walk towards their English class. Although May desperately wanted to grab Ed's hands and continue to hold it as they walked through the hallway to the classroom, she knew that now wasn't the time. They had to prepare themselves to somehow convince Double Dee to take a chance and talk to Marie. Nevertheless, May couldn't have been happier, for at the same time that she was helping her sister, she was gradually forming a beautiful bond with her Big Ed.


	46. Chapter 46

**Chapter 46**

It was now 3:00, and the afternoon seemed to go rather quickly for all of the students of Peach Creek Junior High. The bell had just rung, dismissing the children to a beautiful Thursday afternoon.

Double Dee had been one of the first students to leave the school, and he was currently working to free his triple tandem bike from the chains he had used to lock it up. He was still extremely distraught about losing Marie, and his emotions had caused him to daydream in the middle of an algebra test, earning himself a rather sub-par score. Although Double Dee had worked so hard throughout his life on academics, he was unaffected by his failing grade due to the upsetting circumstances he was forced to deal with.

As Double Dee was unchaining his bike, Ed, Eddy, Lee and May were currently walking out of the front doors to the school together, discussing their plan. Lee took notice of Double Dee.

"Alright, there he is." said Lee, "Now ya said ya had your bike, right Ed?"

"Wilco Roger Lee!" said Ed as he saluted her.

"Good," said Lee, "Take May and follow him home. You two are gonna talk to him and try to get his emotions under control. Then your gonna convince him to come over to talk to Marie later tonight."

Lee turned towards Eddy.

"We'll walk home and meet them at Double Dee's house." said Lee, "That will give ya the chance to apologize to him."

Eddy had longed to apologize to Double Dee, although he was afraid that Double Dee wouldn't forgive him for what he had done. He knew that he had to at least attempt to reconcile, and if Double Dee wanted nothing to do with him, he deserved it.

"Right." said Eddy.

Double Dee had finished unchaining the bike and positioned it to begin riding away.

"There he goes!" yelled Eddy, "Alright we'll meet ya there in a few."

"Okay," said May.

"See ya later Eddy!" yelled Ed rather dopily while he waved, "Come on May, our duty calls!"

Ed grabbed Mays hand causing her to blush, and began leading her to the rack to retrieve his bike.

Ed's BMX style trick bike has probably seen better days; the black and yellow paint on the frame was quite faded, and all of the chrome pieces had turned to rust, the pegs included. The bike truly did appear as if it had been grabbed out of the junkyard behind Ed's house, although it was just worn from years of use. May watched as her crush unhooked the bike and pulled it away from the rack. He placed his foot over the frame and onto the pedal, preparing to pull away.

"Alright May, it's time to ride the Ed express!" yelled Ed as he turned back towards May.

Although May had ridden on bike pegs with her sisters in Rods neighborhood, she was slightly reluctant to try again. Eventually, the thought of her riding through town holding onto Ed's shoulders was enough for her to step up onto the pegs. As she placed her arms on his shoulders, she looked down to make sure her black saddle shoes were placed correctly. After a quick adjustment of her yellow knee high socks, she gave Ed the okay to begin pedaling.

Eddy and Lee watched as Ed pedaled out of the school parking lot rather quickly, in order to catch up to Double Dee.

"Look at them go," said Lee as she snickered, "They're a match made in heaven".

"I hope she knows that she's taking a big chance riding with Lumpy on that bike." said Eddy as he chuckled. "He's not the brightest bulb in the world."

The two teenagers began walking out of the school parking lot.

"Geez, I know what ya mean," said Lee, "May has no freakin common sense, I have to hold her hand through everything! The laundry, dishes, hell even when were watching movies she has to ask ten thousand questions and ruin it for me and Marie!"

Eddy stared over towards the red headed Kanker sister, he couldn't help but notice that she had once again pushed her red curls out of her eyes, revealing the blue irises that she had previously kept hidden. Lee stared back into his brown eyes, and realized how much of a miracle it was that her and Eddy were walking through the school parking lot together on relatively decent terms. The two individuals who had been arch nemesis since they first met two summers ago, were now working as allies in the effort to help those that they cared about. With that realization, Lee continued speaking

"I don't know what the hell is going on, but ever since Double Dee started seein' Marie, things have been changing around this place," said Lee, "I mean look at the Big Guy and Bucky, riding home together all jolly like it's somethin that happens everyday. And just look at us, walking home together, how pathetic!"

"I know, tell me about it," said Eddy, "The only reason I'm doin this is for Double Dee!"

"Amen," said Lee, "I'm in this to help Marie, even if it means walking home next to an annoying little shrimp like you."

The two continued walking silently out of the school gates and onto the main thoroughfare of town.

"Wanna hold hands?" asked Lee sarcastically.

"Sure, I'd love to." said Eddy in an equally sarcastic tone.

Eddy and Lee looked at each other for a few seconds before they broke out in laughter after which they continued walking down the sidewalk towards their home.

At the same time that Lee and Eddy were making their way to Rathink Court by foot, May was in the middle of an anxiety attack. Ed was pedaling his rusty bike rather quickly down the bike lane of Market Street, poor May was helplessly gripping as Ed as tight as she could. May braced herself for a collision each and every time a car overtook Ed's bike, as the cars seemed to be drawing closer and closer in towards the bike lane. After about five minutes, Ed managed to catch up with Double Dee and to May's delight he slowed down is if to remain about 30 feet behind him.

As May cruised calmly with Ed, she gradually began to fall into daydream. She dreamed that Ed would stop the bike, turn around on one knee and confess his love for her right then and there in front of the whole town. She longed for her Big Ed to return her affections, and feared that their friendship was only a temporary thing like Lee had previously pointed out. She swore to herself that she would not let that happen.

No sooner than she had drifted into her dream, she was forced back to reality by the jarring motion of the bike turning off of the main street.

"Ed!" yelled May surprised, "What are you doin g? We're supposed to be following Double Dee!"

"And following him we are." said Ed as he pointed his finger forward. May looked forward, and sure enough Ed was still following Double Dee.

Double Dee had turned off of the main street for some unknown reason, and May concluded that he was either taking a different route home, or he was headed to some other location.

The couple continued following Double Dee, and after a few minutes, the hustle and bustle of the business district disappeared. The road suddenly turned semi-rura and was surrounded by large plots of land that seemed o be used for farming. May became frightened, as they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

At this point, the couple had passed a large green sign on the side of the road that read:

**Welcome To The Beautful Riverside Community of New Hope.**

May had never heard of New Hope, and even though they were relatively far away from home, the couple pushed forward and stealthily followed their friend. Little did they know that they were taking the exact same path that Double Dee had taken with Marie after school on that half day of professional development.

Eventually, houses once again began to line the road, and Double Dee had finally arrived at his destination. Ed and May stopped a little ways down the street and watched Double Dee tie his bike to the wrought iron gate that surrounded what appeared to be a cemetery. Ed and May looked at each other confused as Double Dee began walking into the cemetery grounds. They both had no clue why Double Dee would be here. Ed had not heard of anyone in his family passing away recently.

"Do ya think we should follow him?" asked May.

Ed didn't say a word, but reacted by jumping the curb with his bike and leaning it on the wrought iron gate, not even taking the time to chain it to the fence. After quickly dismounting the bike, he and May entered the cemetery grounds in pursuit of Double Dee.

After a few minutes of walking, Double Dee came into view.

"There he is." said May quietly.

Sure enough, Double Dee was sitting on the ground, in front of a large headstone assuming a fetal position. His hands were buried in his face and he was currently letting all of his emotions out in the form of tears.

"Double Dee looks so sad!" said Ed.

May hated seeing the usual chipper Double Dee in such an upset state as well. May put her hand on Ed's shoulder at which point Ed looked down towards her. She motioned with her head for Ed to go console his friend.

As May remained at a distance, she watched Ed slowly walk over to Double Dee and tap him on the shoulder.

"Um Double Dee." said Ed.

"Goodness Ed!" yelled Double Dee as he turned around startled, "You frightened me half to death!"

Double Dee glanced around at Ed, with tears in his eyes. With a quick look behind Ed, he set his eyes on May.

"May?" asked Double Dee, "What are you doing here?"

"We followed you home from school," said Ed, "We're supposed to talk to you and help you out with getting Marie back."

Double Dee had no idea what to say. He had not expected Ed and May to show up at James' grave.

"We thought we were going to your house," said May, "We're sorry for following you here Double Dee."

With those words, Double Dee glanced back at his brothers gravestone, and then back towards his two friends. He knew what he had to do.

"I suppose that you two are wondering why I am here?" asked Double Dee.

Double Dee walked over towards May and Ed with his head down to his chest. Double Dee told his entire story about the tragic loss of James, his house, and his burns, holding back tears all along the way. Although Ed had laid eyes on Double Dees burn scars before, for the first time, he truly understood the impact that they had on Double Dees life.

May Lonergan, upon seeing Double Dee's scars and hearing his emotional story, could not hold back her tears any longer.

"Double Dee," said May softly, "I had no idea, that must have been horrible!"

Double Dee had turned back around toward James' grave stone, dangling his black ski hat in his right hand. He was currently attempting to hide his own tears. Poor Ed was distraught by the story, and could hardly control his emotions as well. He took notice that May was crying next to him, and touched his hand to her face. May looked up in to Ed's emotional eyes, and couldn't help but smile at his kind gesture.

Ed turned away from May and walked towards an emotionally drained Double Dee. He tapped his friend on the shoulder, at which point an extremely teary eyed Double Dee turned around to face him.

Ed couldn't hold back his own tears any longer and proceeded to grab Double Dee in a rather gentle hug. May watched as her crush consoled his best friend for around five minutes. She was in awe at the remarkable friendship that Ed had with Double Dee; Ed really cared for Double Dee like a brother.

"Curse my life!" said Double Dee while he let out long overdue tears.

"Double Dee," said Ed, as he attempted to do his best to calm Double Dee down, "Don't you dare say that mister."

"I'm afraid it's the truth Ed," said Double Dee, "My life is doomed to be lived out as a series of unfortunate events!"

Double Dee paused.

"I loved him," said Double Dee, "He was my best friend in addition to being my brother, we did everything together. And now I stand here in this earthly realm, cursed to live out the rest of my life without him. Every morning I am forced to relive that tragic experience when I look in the mirror after my shower and see these hideous scars!"

Double Dee caught his breath and looked up into Ed's eyes.

"And ever since I received these wounds, I began to question what kind of woman could ever possibly want someone who looked as monstrous as I do."

Double Dee sniffled.

"Marie was that woman. She saw me for who I was, and not some hideous contorted freak of nature!"

Double Dee paused.

"And now her love is gone, taken away from me just as James was." said Double Dee, "And as much as I try, she'll probably never speak to me again."

Although May wasn't particularly crafty, she had managed to just place two pieces of a puzzle together. She recalled that Marie had asked her to cover for her on the half day of school because Double Dee wanted her to accompany him to a personal place; that personal place being James' gravesite. With that assumption, May was able to form an idea. Even though Marie had thought that Double Dee used her, Double Dee would have never shared intimate secrets about himself with her if his love wasn't genuine. May would later use this fact to convince Marie to take Double Dee back.

"Double Dee," said May as she touched her hand to his shoulder, "Everyone knows that you didn't purposely embarrass Marie."

"But how?" said Double Dee, "All of the evidence was pointing right at me!"

"Eddy finally stepped up and admitted he was wrong," said May, "He said that he was jealous that you were able to get a girlfriend and failed you as a friend. I think you missed it because you were already in your homeroom. At lunch, he and Ed made friends again."

"We are friends once more Double Dee!" said Ed in his dopey voice.

Double Dee couldn't believe what he was hearing. The proud, suave ladies man, Eddy McGee had admitted that his main motive for breaking he and Marie up was jealousy and envy that he had a girlfriend. Double Dee concluded that that must have taken a lot of guts for Eddy to stand up and admit that.

"May, I'm speechless, I must say that I honestly do not believe that Eddy would do such a thing!" said Double Dee.

"Eddy is sorry Double Dee!" said Ed, "And he's coming over to your house tonight so that we can all be pals once more!"

Double Dee was in awe that Eddy was actually planning to approach him with a heartfelt apology.

"I wonder what came over him?" asked Double Dee.

"Lee had a talk with him," said May, "Somehow, she was able to get him to think about what he did, and realize that he was wrong."

"My goodness, Lee helped Eddy understand the error of his ways!" yelled Double Dee.

"Yep!" said May.

Double Dee couldn't have felt happier. Due to a recent chain of events that he wasn't aware of up until now, a good portion of the tension that had erupted between the friends had began to vanish. However, even though Double Dee longed for his friendships to stay intact, he still longed to have Marie's love once again.

"How is Marie handling this?" asked a concerned Double Dee.

Ed and May looked at each other, neither of the two wanted to break the bad news to an already upset Double Dee.

"Double Dee," said May, "We tried to talk to her, but she won't have it. She is really hurt, and she doesn't want to listen to us when we try to tell her that you didn't do anything"

Double Dee's slightly happy expression turned into that of melancholy at the sound of those words.

"Listen," said May, "We figured that maybe you could come over to the trailer and talk to her. She might actually listen to your voice!"

Double Dee paused.

"But Marie had explicitly stated that she never wanted to speak to me again," said a saddened Double Dee.

"Double Dee," said May, "If Marie didn't still love you, she wouldn't be crying all day and all night over the breakup. She loves you Double Dee, and if you ask me you two deserve each other!"

Double Dee stared into the blonde Kanker sisters blue eyes.

"You love her too don't you?" asked May.

Double Dee shook his head up and down as if saying yes.

"Then let's go, we got work to do!" said May.

Before departing the grave site, Double Dee respected his brother with a moment of silence. Ed joined the respectful gesture by standing next to Double Dee. May, raised Catholic, performed the sign of the cross in front of the grave stone, and paid respects to James with a moment of silence herself.

The group of three began walking out of the cemetery towards the front gates. To Ed's dismay, his bike was no longer sitting in its place by the wrought iron gate; his negligence in tying it to the post had made it an easy target for theft.

"Ed," said Double Dee, "I thought you said that you and May had pursued me on a bicycle?"

"We did," said Ed, "I don't know where it went"

"Did you perhaps forget to secure it the fence as a preventative measure against theft?" asked Double Dee.

Ed paused before he began speaking once more.

"Ah whatever," he said, "My mom said she was gonna get me a new one anyway."

May couldn't help but let out a chuckle under her breath as Double Dee sighed

"Thankfully my bicycle has enough seats to accommodate the three of us!" said Double Dee as he chuckled.

"OH OH, can I drive, please!" asked Ed in the manner of an excited child.

"Shut up bub!" said May playfully, "You already had enough fun today, it's my turn to drive! Me and my sisters have always wanted one of these."

Double Dee watched as May casually took the front seat of the triple tandem bike wrapping her hands around the handlebars. Ed had not even put up a fight to drive the bike, and Double Dee had managed to genuinely chuckle for the first time since Tuesday. Even though Ed and May weren't the couple that Marie and He were quite yet, Ed was still forced to abide to the number one rule for dating a Kanker sister. It was a rule that Double Dee was all too familiar with; the girl always wins.

"Come on mister" said Ed as he motioned for Double Dee to take the seat behind him, "It's time for you to get the girl!"

Double Dee walked over to the bike and took the seat directly behind Ed. All three teenagers worked together to push the bike off, and before they knew it they had begun their long journey back to Double Dee's house, where Eddy and Lee would be waiting. Eddy in particular, had very important things to say to his brainy best friend.


	47. Chapter 47

**Chapter 47**

The afternoon sun had just begun to set over Rathink Court. As the sky began to turn to a dull orange hue, the "Ed Mobile", driven by May had finally arrived at the cul-de-sac. As the bike pulled up in front of Double Dee's lawn, Double Dee turned to see Eddy and Lee sitting on his stoop as if they were waiting for him. Lee was grinning slyly, while Eddy had his head down towards the ground.

"What took ya so long?" yelled Lee as she stood up off of the stoop, walking towards May's position.

"We had to make a little stop, we're sorry," said May.

"Geez some little stop," said Lee, "What did ya have to do stop to make out with Ed?"

Lee chuckled as May began to blush.

"Shut up Lee!" yelled May, causing more laughter from her red-headed sister.

"I'm just jokin, loosen up Bucky!" yelled Lee as she walked over towards Double Dee.

"Ya ready to get your woman back Double Dee?" asked Lee as she grinned.

Double Dee sighed.

"As ready as I'll ever be I suppose." replied Double Dee.

In reality, Double Dee was not even close to being emotionally ready to face Marie, and he was sure that Marie was not quite at that point yet. Lee took notice that Double Dee was in distress and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't sweat it," said Lee, "She still loves ya, she just needs a good kick in the ass. And you talkin to her will be just the thing to do it!"

Lee laughed as she backed away from Double Dee. As Ed and May held their own side conversation, Lee looked over towards Eddy. Eddy was afraid to face Double Dee after all of the things he had done to hurt him and was looking towards the ground awkwardly.

"Yo Eddy," said Lee, "Isn't there something you'd like to say to Double Dee?"

Eddy looked up from the ground, and made eye contact with his friend, who was still standing at the edge of the lawn next to his bike. Eddy reluctantly began walking towards Double Dee as Lee, May and Ed looked on.

Eddy finally reached the edge of Double Dee's lawn, and found himself staring directly into the eyes of his best friends. Both boys glanced at each other for a good 10 seconds before Eddy began speaking.

"Double Dee," said Eddy, "I'm so sorry for ruining your relationship with Marie, and even more sorry for hurting Marie so bad. I was jealous of ya Double Dee, and the fact that you got a girlfriend and a real kiss before I did."

Eddy paused and caught his breath.

"I was wrong, I wasn't even thinking. I finally realized that I should have cared as much about your feelings as you did for mine. You were the first, and only person who was there for more last July, when my brother beat me up in front of everyone. You even put yourself in danger with him, with the mindset that you were defending me. Most of all, after it happened, you were the one who was there to reassure me that everything was going to be alright."

Eddy looked into his friends eyes.

"I feel awful Double Dee," said Eddy, "As much as you needed me to accept your relationship and be happy for you, I wasn't. I can't believe I ruined a great friendship over something so stupid."

Eddy looked down away from Double Dee. At this moment, Double Dee placed his hand on Eddy's shoulder, causing Eddy to glance back up into his eyes. Double Dee had only seen the particular facial expression that Eddy was demonstrating one other time in all of the years he had known him, and that was during Eddy's heartfelt speech in the "Mondo A-Go Go" amusement park last summer. Double Dee knew at this moment that Eddy's apology was true, and he smiled into his friends eyes.

"Eddy," said Double Dee, "After those words, I hardly believe that our friendship is ruined."

Eddy smiled as he reached his hand out to shake Double Dees hand. Double Dee reached his hand out and grabbed Eddy's hand in a tight grip as he looked into his friend's eyes. After around five seconds, Eddy opened up his arms and embraced his best friend, as Double Dee embraced him back. After two days of not speaking, the two boys had finally regained their brotherly bond.

"I suppose I am just as at fault Eddy," said Double Dee, "I spent the first week of my relationship lying to you and Ed about Marie, something I never thought that I could bring myself to do."

"Just shut up Double Dee," said Eddy, "Don't you even try to say any of this is your fault. I was the jerk in this situation. I got ya into this, and I'm gonna get you out. It's time that we got you your girl back."

Double Dee smiled at his best friend as he let him out of his embrace. At this moment, Ed rushed over and placed his two friends in a headlock.

"We are all the three musk rats once again!" yelled Ed.

"I believe you mean musketeers Ed!" yelled Double Dee as he smiled.

"Yeah, what he said," said Eddy, "And even though my nose is being filled with the funk of your pits, I couldn't be happier right now!"

Lee and May smiled as the boys reconciled. Lee glanced over at May and gave her a quick wink, at which pointed she began walking over towards the boys.

"Alright boys!" yelled Lee, "Break it up, turtle doves. We gotta talk about what you're gonna say to Marie tonight."

"Certainly Lee," said Double Dee, "But there is one more thing I really need to clear up. As you have already pointed out, Ed, May and myself were late to this little rendezvous that you had planned. I will now explain the reason for our tardiness."

Double Dee turned to Eddy,

"Eddy as my best friend, I believe that it is time for me to share one of my most requited secrets with you." said Double Dee.

Lee sensed that Double Dee was about to speak about something that obviously meant a lot to him. She grabbed Mays hand and began leading May out of earshot, to give the boys privacy. Double Dee took notice.

"Lee," said Double Dee, "I have already told May what I am about to tell Eddy. I would certainly love for you to hear the story as well."

Lee stopped where she was and walked over towards Double Dee.

Double Dee sighed.

"Now, as you know Eddy, I wear this ski hat to cover up those hideous scars that are distributed irregularly across the left side of my scalp."

Eddy and Lee stood wide eyed as Double Dee once again told the entire story of how he lost his only brother in that terrible blaze, while at the same time revealing his scars to Eddy and Lee. Eddy had seen the scars before, so he was prepared for what he saw. Lee however had just seen the scars for the first time. Lee had been battling tears throughout the whole story, and seeing the burns on Double Dees head had managed to really hit home with her. The group as a whole stood in silence after Double Dee had finished speaking. Eddy decided to break the silence.

"Wow," said Eddy, "Double Dee, I'm sorry man. I feel so bad for callin ya Sock Head all of the time."

"I'm sorry for not telling you before," said Double Dee, "It's just that it's so hard to talk about it. We did everything together, and to this day I still feel as though he should be here with me."

The group of teenager stood in silence for a few seconds. After a while, Double Dee glanced around his yard. He turned to see May and Ed standing together with rather somber facial expressions, but was really surprised when he laid his eyes on Lee. Lee was standing in the middle of his lawn, trying to hold back tears. May glanced over at her sister at which point she walked over to towards her.

"Lee, are you alright?" asked May.

"Yeah, of course," snapped Lee, "I just got allergies."

May looked into her sisters eyes and couldn't help but grin.

"What," yelled Lee, "Don't look at me like that May, or I'll give ya the back hand again."

May continued looking at Lee, and after a few minutes Lee could no longer control her tears. May reached out and embraced her sister, as she showed her emotions after hearing Double Dee's tragic story. The Eds looked on shocked at what they were seeing. Double Dee had known before now that the Kanker sisters were ordinary girls on the inside, with feelings just like everyone else. However, seeing the girls display emotion was something entirely new to Ed and Eddy. Eddy in particular was shocked that the proud Lee Kanker would be standing directly in front of him crying. He couldn't help but crack a joyous smile at seeing the girls he had previously thought were animals showing who they truly were.

"Alright," yelled Lee, "Enough watching me stand over here crying like a freakin baby."

Lee wiped her eyes off as she walked over towards the Eds.

"Come on boys, it's time to set things right," yelled Lee as she pointed towards the trailer park, "Let's go get Double Dee his woman!"

Lee began walking across the street towards the construction site. May walked over to Ed and motioned for him to walk her home, after which they began following Lee's lead.

"Alright, you heard queen loudmouth," said Eddy, "It's time, let's go get you Marie!"

Eddy began walking after the rest of his peers, but quickly turned around to see that Double Dee had not budged an inch.

"Hey," said Eddy as he walked over to his friend, "You okay?"

"I am not sure if this is a good idea Eddy," said Double Dee, "After all, Marie did state that she did not want to ever speak to me again."

"Relax Double Dee," said Eddy, "From what I heard, this girl really loves ya. Now come on, ya gotta girl to sweep off her feet."

Double Dee smiled at his friends encouraging words.

"Let's go." said Eddy as he motioned for Double Dee to walk with him, "Besides, if ya stick by me, you can have any girl ya want."

Double Dee looked into Eddy's face and smiled. The boys shared a laugh at Eddy's joke as they walked toward the trailer park, on their way to execute their plan to reunite Double Dee and Marie.

It didn't take long for the teenagers to reach the Park n' Flush trailer park, and although the walk was short, every step felt like it had taken a lifetime for Double Dee. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and he was once again sweating. He did not want to blow his chance to win back Marie's trust.

Double Dee was too in tune to his thoughts to realize that he was currently standing around ten feet away from the front door of the Kanker sister's trailer, along with the rest of his peers.

"Alright, here's the deal," said Lee, "I'm gonna go in first and talk to her. I think she's gonna need to be prepared for all of this before we go rushing in there."

Lee paused.

"And when we do go in there, make sure you be quiet cause our mom's home sleeping for work tomorrow."

Lee leaned into Eddy's face.

"I trust you can keep your big mouth shut for a few minutes while we do this" said Lee as she chuckled under her breath.

Eddy and Ed were quite frightened at the prospect of going into the Kanker's trailer while their mother was home. They could only imagine the kind of person that produced three overly aggressive antisocial daughters.

"Don't worry shrimp," said Lee, "She ain't gonna hurt ya, unless ya wake her up that is!"

Lee laughed at Eddy's fear as she began walking towards the door to the trailer.

"Alright, wait here," said Lee as she stepped up onto the single metal step leading up to the door, "I'll be right out."

Lee slowly opened the door to the trailer and entered, leaving the door slightly cracked. The kids who remained outside listened to the conversation that was taking place within the trailer.

"Marie," said Lee, "Someone is here to see you."

Eddy and Ed were shocked to hear Lee's voice sounding calm and motherly for once, rather than gritty and demanding.

There was silence within the trailer.

"Marie, please," said Lee, "It's Double Dee."

"I don't wanna talk," said Marie.

Double Dee's feelings were slightly hurt when he heard Marie's voice utter those words.

"Please Marie, just talk to him alone and listen to what he has to say." said Lee.

There was silence within the trailer once again, after which the sounds of footsteps were heard walking towards the door. Lee reemerged from the door and walked down the stairs onto the soil that lined the trailer park grounds.

After a few seconds, an emotionally distraught Marie appeared at the doorway. She was wearing the oversized t-shirt that she had usually worn to bed; it was in fact so large that the neck hole was wide enough to expose at least one of her shoulders. In addition to her t-shirt, she wore her plaid pajama bottoms; her feet were bare. Marie was not wearing any makeup, and her hair was unkempt; she had not cared about her physical appearance during the emotional turmoil she had suffered over the past two days.

Double Dees heart was broken when he caught sight of Marie in a state of such emotional despair. Although Double Dee stared directly into her eyes, Marie stared off into the distance as if she was in a trance.

Eddy had finally decided to do what he had to do, and stepped towards the door to the trailer.

"Marie," said Eddy, "I just want to tell you that everything that happened yesterday was my fault. Double Dee had nothing to do with it. I turned an intimate gift from you to Double Dee into something horrible, and I should have never done that. I did it cause I was jealous of you and Double Dees relationship."

Eddy took a breath.

"I don't expect you to forgive me, but I only ask that you give Double Dee a chance to talk to you and straighten things out. Double Dees a great guy, and he'll always be there for ya no matter what. You two deserve each other, and I was stupid to get in the way."

Eddy stepped back away from the trailer, and motioned Double Dee to begin walking towards Marie. Marie had absolutely no reaction to Eddy's statement and continued staring into the distance.

"So what do ya say Marie?" asked Lee, "Will ya give Double Dee a chance to talk to ya alone inside?"

Silence filled the air after that important question. After around ten seconds, Marie finally spoke.

"I can't." said Marie softly, "I'm sorry…I just can't"

Marie's lower lip trembled and tears began flowing down her face as she slowly closed the door to the trailer. Lee and May glanced at each other sorrowfully after which Lee walked toward the door to try to reason with Marie once again. After grabbing the doorknob and jiggling it, she discovered that Marie had locked the door.

"What the hell." said Lee quietly, "The bitch locked us out."

Lee jiggled the handle, after which she knocked on the door softly.

"Marie!" yelled Lee, "Open this damn door!"

As Lee attempted to get Marie to unlock the door, May walked over to Double Dee, who was attempting to hold back tears. Marie's words had just re hurt his feelings all over again.

"Double Dee, I'm sorry." said May in a somber tone.

At this point Lee had quit trying to reason with Marie and joined her sister by Double Dee and the other Ed's

"Sorry Double Dee," said Lee, "This wasn't supposed to happen. We'll get her to come around."

Lee turned towards Eddy.

"Why don't you take Double Dee home and play your games or something, to take his mind off of all of this," said Lee rather gently, "We'll try again later. But for now I gotta figure out a way to get into my own house."

Eddy shook his head as he rounded up Ed and Double Dee. The three boys walked away from the trailer park in silence.

It didn't take long for Lee to get the idea to use a small clothes hanger that she found in the dumpster to pick the lock. Lee twisted the hanger into a wire, and spent around five minutes working on the lock before she finally heard the deadbolt unlatch.

Lee pushed the door open and entered the trailers dark living room with May following closely after her. The two girls laid eyes on their sister, sitting on the couch with her face buried in her hands. Marie was sobbing rather heavily and her eyes were filled with tears. Although Lee was aggravated that she just had to break into her own house, she decided to put that behind her and attempt comfort and reason with her sister.

"Marie," said Lee calmly while she took a seat on the couch next to Marie. May followed Lee's lead and took a seat on the other side of her sister.

"Marie, Double Dee really wants to talk to you," said Lee.

"He loves you Marie, and he wants things to work out." said May.

"Well I don't love him." snapped Marie.

Lee had now decided to execute her ace in the hole. She knew that if Marie thought about things, she would realize that Double Dee would have never told her his secret about James if he was just using her to spy on the sisters.

"Marie," said Lee, "Do you think that Double Dee would have told you about his brother James, if he really didn't trust you and love you."

Marie instantly perked up at the sound of the name James. Lee was right, Double Dee would have never thought told her a story as serious as his tragic loss if his feelings for her weren't genuine.

"He told you?" asked Marie.

"Yeah," said May, "It was so sad, he really cared about his brother."

The three girls sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So," said Lee, "Do ya think we should go over Double Dees house and let ya talk to him about all of this."

Lee and May sat on the couch, waiting for an answer from their sister.

"No," said Marie, "I don't want to be hurt again. I can never trust him after he let Eddy give out those pictures of me!"

Marie was obviously just being stubborn, although she was truly hurt after having to relive her bullying she experienced as a child.

At this point, Lee stood up off of the couch and stared into Marie's face. Lee was fed up with her sister's stubborn ways and began yelling. Her yelling began to make May quite nervous.

"You know what Marie, you have got to be the stupidest person on two feet right now! You have a great man that loves you trying desperately to win you back! And you know what just takes the cake, you are still mad at him even though he didn't do anything to ya. Do you know much I would want a man like Double Dee to love me? Do ya! You don't know what you have Marie, and you are a freakin fool for not even wanting to talk to him. If ya ask me he deserves better than yo…."

All three girls froze where they were. In the midst of Lee's anger, her voice had climbed higher and higher in volume. The door to the bedroom upstairs had opened with an audible creek that seemed to resonate through the entire trailer. The girls could hear their mother slowly making her way to the edge of the stairs.

"Damn it," said Lee under her breath.

Tabby began descending the stairs and stopped when she was around halfway down. She glanced over at her three daughters with a rather somber facial expression as she leaned on the railing.

"Sorry mom," said Lee, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

Tabby stared at her daughters for a few more seconds before finally breaking the silence.

"You didn't wake me Annalee," said Tabby, after which she glanced down at Marie, making eye contact with her second born daughter.

"Annemarie," said Tabby, "Please come up to the bedroom, I really need to talk to you."

With those words, Tabby climbed the staircase and reentered the bedroom. Back on the couch, all three girls were completely confused. Their mother had never asked any of them to "talk" before, and Marie had no idea what her mother had to say. All of her life, she had never had any kind of intimate conversation with her mother. With a quick look at her sisters, Marie reluctantly rose off of the couch, and began ascending the stairs towards the bedroom. Lee and May took their seats on the couch, and flipped the television on. The two girls remained in silence as Marie began opening the door to the upstairs bedroom; she had no idea what her mother had in store for her.


	48. Chapter 48

**Chapter 48**

Marie took a deep breath as she slowly opened the door to the upstairs bedroom of the trailer. Marie was quite nervous, as she had never had a conversation alone with her mother before. Even though she was biologically related to Tabby and lived in the same residence as her for all of her life, she felt as if she was a complete stranger. Although she had had conversations with Tabby, they were never as intimate as the one she was walking into right now.

Marie opened the bedroom door, causing it to squeak audibly. She peered to the far side of her room to see her mother leaning on the wall next to the small window. She held a cigarette between her index and middle finger of her right hand. She had just taken a draw and was currently blowing the exhaust out of the open window. Tabby was wearing bedroom slippers, plaid pajama bottoms just as Marie was, and a white t-shirt that was meant to advertise "Reardons Bait and Tackle"; she was however using it as her bed time shirt. Lastly, her long red curly hair was styled up in a bun-like style, as she always did when she was preparing herself for bed.

"Mom?" asked Marie quietly as she entered the bedroom closing the door behind her. Tabby turned around and looked into her daughters eyes.

"Annemarie." said Tabby quietly. Her voice contained the same Mid Western United States inflections as Lee. Out of all of her daughters, her speech patterns resembled Marie the most, however the pitch of her voice fell somewhere between Marie and Mays.

"Please come sit down on the bed," said Tabby as she walked over to the bed and took a seat on the edge, still holding her cigarette in her right hand. Marie reluctantly walked over towards her mother and took a seat next to her. Both women obviously felt awkward and both were staring at the wall on the far side of the room.

"Annemarie, I overheard you and Lee arguing downstairs," said Tabby, "You and Edd are having some problems aren't you?"

Marie was shocked that her mother was sitting directly next to her discussing the subject at hand. Tabby looked into her daughter's face, who nodded her head up and down as if to say yes. Marie was trying to hold back tears at the sound of his name.

"And if I heard right, whatever it was that happened to you wasn't his fault. It was just a misunderstanding, right?" asked Tabby.

Marie was astonished that her mother had hit the nail on the head. She was quite aggravated as well, and due to her stubborn nature, she once again refused to face the truth.

"Well even if it wasn't his fault!" Marie blurted out, "He's still a jerk for letting…"

"Annemarie," said Tabby cutting her daughter off, "Listen to yourself, you're not even giving him a chance! You're just trying to keep making excuses to avoid facing him again."

Tabby took a draw of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke shortly after, during which time both women were silent.

"Annemarie," said Tabby, "Let me tell you a little story about myself that might help you out with what you're going through right now."

Tabby paused and looked into her daughters teary eyes.

"But before I do, I'll tell you the real story of how you three girls came to be. I think you are mature enough to understand" said Tabby.

Marie stared into hear mothers blue-eyed freckled face in a state of shock. She had heard the stories of her and Lee conceptions and births in a nut shell from both Tabby and her Poppy before. However, the stories were in fact modified and shortened as to not include any major details. She was intrigued by her mother's suggestion, as she had longed to hear the full story of how she came to be born.

Even more intriguing to Marie was the fact that she had said "all three girls". This would mean that she would hopefully include May. Tabby had never even told of anything about May's conception and birth, and her origins were thus shrouded in mystery to Marie. Marie had even asked May if Tabby or Rod had told her anything about her birth; May in fact was just as clueless as Marie was.

"The summer had just ended when we were kicked off of our land here in Peach Creek." said Tabby, breaking Marie from her thoughts as she began her story, "I can remember watching Poppy pack all of our things into the back of the U-Haul truck that morning, and feeling sad that we were gonna have to start a new life. During the whole car ride into the city, I began to get scared, as I saw the beautiful grass turn into asphalt and pavement. The wide open fields that I was used to seeing suddenly became rows upon rows of decrepit and unkempt houses. When we finally got to the new apartment, me and Aunt Kate were surprised by how small our new home was. There was no big foyer, where we could dance our days away like we could back here in Peach Creek, and me and Aunt Kate were forced to share a bedroom."

Tabby stepped off of the bed and walked over to the bedroom dresser, on which her prized music box sat. She picked up the music box and brought it over to the bed, sitting down next to her daughter once again. Tabby opened the box and let the tune play for while before closing it once again.

"The worst part of it all is that somehow we managed to forget this in our rush to leave the house." said Tabby, "This box meant so much to me as a little girl, and even more so now because it was engraved especially to me from Poppy. I was sure that it have been stolen or destroyed. But thanks to you and Edd, I have it back, and I am so glad that it is in my arms once again."

Tabby took a puff of her cigarette and placed the music box next to her on the bed, as she continued her story.

"After only a week of getting used to the city, I was forced to start fourth grade at the city public school." said Tabby, "The first thing I learned was that the city school was much different than Peach Creek Elementary. Me and Aunt Kate were quite shy girls, and that being said, we were prime targets for bullying."

Tabby paused.

"We had everything you can imagine done to us. We were shoved into lockers, punched around, and hit in the back of the head with rocks as we walked down the street."

Tabby stared up into the ceiling.

"The worst physical thing that ever happened was when we were walking home from school for Thanksgiving break. As we turned the corner, we saw a group of boys staring at us. To this day, I am still haunted by those creepy stares that we received from those boys. They called our names to come over to them, but we didn't listen and began running down the street the opposite way. Of course, they chased us and managed to corner us in one of the alley ways."

Tabby paused and looked into her daughter's eyes.

"One of the boys had a pair of scissors. Long story short, me and Aunt Kate walked home missing our once long red curls."

Marie was heartbroken. Although she had been bullied throughout her whole school life, most of her bullying took the form of mental and verbal abuse. She was surprised that her mother could talk about such an upsetting issue so calmly.

"Mom…." said Marie quietly, "They cut your hair off?"

Tabby closed her eyes as she looked towards the far side of the room once again, and shook her head up and down.

"They were animals." said Marie silently as she placed her hand over her mouth.

"Poppy was furious," said Tabby, "He called the school to try to get the boys disciplined for what they did."

Tabby puffed her cigarette.

"In the end, they received a slap on the wrist, and were dealt a one day in school suspension."

Marie had no idea what to say and remained silent, allowing her mother to continue her story.

"As horrible as that sounds," said Tabby, "The worst thing that I had to deal with was the verbal abuse. It only got worse as we got older. The girls of the school would call me things like "fat pig", while the boys would call me "connect the dots" referring to all of the freckles that I have on my face. There was however one boy, whose words still plague me to this day even more than when they snipped off my hair."

Tabby paused.

"One day, while I was walking into high school, I passed a group of boys, who were hanging on the corner. As I passed, I heard them make remarks about my body, and whistle, it was really uncomfortable. Then one of the boys said the words.

_"Damn baby, you got a bangin body. But your face is ugly as sin!"_

"I never saw that boy again, but his words hurt me so much that I still remember that exact moment today. None of the physical stuff nearly hurt as much as being called ugly directly to my face."

Marie had no idea what to say, and continued listening to Tabby's story while looking into her mother's face.

"My grades began going down, and I wound up having to repeat 11th grade twice. When I was finally 18, I decided to drop out. Poppy didn't want me to do it and he was really disappointed, but I couldn't be in that environment any longer. Aunt Kate found herself in a similar situation."

Tabby drew her cigarette once again, after which she shook the ashes on the end into the ash tray sitting on the night stand.

"The horrible words me and Aunt Kate received from the boys in high school made us both think that we were too ugly to have any kind of steady boyfriend. I felt worthless, and began dealing with it by sleeping with any man that was willing to be with me, thinking of myself as nothing more than a lay toy. Aunt Kate dealt with it by turning to drugs, as I told you before. Needless to say, because of those drugs, you were never able to meet your aunt."

Tabby paused.

"As for me, I stayed away from drugs, well except for these cancer sticks." said Tabby as she held her cigarette up, "Even though I wasn't doing any kind of drug, I can only thank the lord that I did not catch any kind of disease from sleeping with as many men as I did."

Tabby stood up off of the bed and walked over towards the window as she continued telling her story.

"When I was 21 I met Lee's father Butch for the first time. It's pretty sad, but I really don't remember what he looked like. I only knew him for a few weeks. He was probably the closest thing that I had to a boyfriend at that point, as I went over his house almost every night to give him what he wanted."

Tabby began pacing across the room as Marie's eyes tracked her motions.

"After about the third week, I began noticing that my body was acting differently. Missing my monthly "woman thing" when I usually got it combined with the fact that Butch refused to use protection gave me a pretty good idea of what had happened. With a quick home test, I was assured that I was in fact pregnant."

Marie was amazed that her mother was comfortable enough to discuss things like this with her so openly. Although the subject's being discussed were quite sorrowful, Marie was happy that her mother was finally letting her in on details of her life, and being completely honest with her.

"Now as I have told you before, Butch was not happy about the news that he was going to be a dad," said Tabby, "After I was sure that I was pregnant, I went over to his apartment to tell him. I climbed the stairs up to his door and rang the doorbell. I was so scared to tell him Annemarie, but I knew that it was only right for him to know. When he answered I broke the news to him. Do you know what the first thing that he said to me was?"

"What?" asked a curious Marie.

"His first words were 'You're gonna take care of it right?'" said Tabby, "I told him that I planned to keep the baby, but he didn't have it."

Tabby paused while looking up towards the ceiling once again.

"Then he grabbed me tightly, and pulled me into his face. He then said, 'If you're not gonna take care of it, I'll take care of it for ya'. After he said that, he threw me down the concrete stairs, in an attempt to cause me to miscarry."

"Oh my god," said Marie shocked by her mother's story.

"Well thankfully I didn't miscarry, but I did need stitches on my elbow, as well as my forehead." said Tabby as she pushed her hair back slightly, revealing a scar, "That is where I got this from."

"What happened after that?" asked Marie,

"He left me there at the bottom of the stairs to deal with my injuries alone. He then ran into his apartment slamming the door, but not before he spit down at me and called me a 'fucking whore.'"

Tabby put her cigarette out in the ash tray, and turned towards her daughter.

"That was the last time that I ever saw Butch," said Tabby, "And in all honesty I'm glad it was. I pretty much stopped hitting the bar scene after that, and of course stopped sleeping around as well. I picked up a job waitressing at a restaurant while I pregnant. The months flew by, and before I knew it, I was a single mother with a baby girl that I named Annalee. Thankfully, Mom Mom was able to help me with taking care of Annalee while I worked to support her, and I did my best to spend my time with her."

Tabby took a breath.

"A few months went by, and things were going quite well. I had made an attempt to rid myself of the partying life style that I had created for myself, as I now had a child, and she was much more important than anything else in the world to me. When Lee was around four months old, I began seeing your father Bubba. He was a regular patron at the restaurant, and at first glance, he seemed like a pretty decent man. We used to take long rides on his motorcycle together, and things were going great until I brought him home. I learned real quick that he was an alcoholic, and I wanted nothing to do with any of that as I was really trying to be responsible. As I have told you before, he hated Lee, and hated the fact that she needed so much of my attention. Because of that, I told him it was over. If he couldn't accept the fact that I had a daughter and she had to come first, he would just have to get out. And that's what happened."

"Good for you," said Marie, "But I know that's not the end of your story with him, because you didn't mention anything about me."

Marie chuckled slightly trying to bring some fun into the deep conversation she was having with her mother. Surprisingly Tabby chuckled back.

"Annemarie, are you sure you want to hear what I am about to tell you?" asked Tabby.

Marie was quite nervous about hearing the details of her origins, but now was the time. She had to know the truth, the whole truth, not a sugar coated story.

"I want to know Mom." said Marie rather intently.

"I told you a few months ago that you were conceived while me and Bubba were drunk," said Tabby, "That that was only partially true."

Tabby reached over and grabbed her daughter's hand, while she looked into her eyes.

"A few nights after I told Bubba it was over, I was in the apartment alone watching Lee. I was sober, of course. Mom Mom and Poppy were out enjoying a dinner date alone. After a few hours, I heard a loud knock on the door. When I opened it, I saw Bubba standing in front of me, drunk to the point where he couldn't even stand. I told him he needed to go away, and that I didn't want anything to do with him. He didn't like that answer and he told me that he would leave, but "Not without getting what he deserved."

Tabby's eyes begin tearing up.

"I tried to close the door and lock it, but he forced it open. He was just too strong, he grabbed me by my hair and slammed me up against the wall on my stomach. He slammed my head into the wall repeatedly and told me that if I screamed, he would kill me."

Tears were now beginning to stream down Tabby's face, and Marie was heartbroken as she watched her mother cry for the first time.

"He pulled me into the bedroom, and started ripping my clothes off….then he…"

"Mom," said Marie as she began to tear up as well, "You don't have to tell me the rest. I know what happened next."

Marie did the only thing she could do and embraced her highly distraught mother. Tabby for the first time, hugged her daughter in a tight loving squeeze. After a few minutes, Tabby finally calmed down and continued, skipping the details of her assault.

"After he left, I called the police and put a report in," said Tabby, "After a few months, they finally caught him on another sexual assault charge. He got a nice long prison sentence for his assault on me and a couple other women who decided to testify. He is as far as I know still in prison."

"Good!" yelled Marie, "I'm glad I never met him, or else I'd spit in his freakin' face!"

Tabby reached into her pack of cigarettes and decided to light up once again.

"His assault just happened to line up perfectly with my cycle, and needless to say another home pregnancy test assured me that I was once again pregnant with my second daughter."

Tabby drew her cigarette and closed her eyes as she did so.

"After you were born my stress level really picked up. I was now in a situation that I really was not prepared for. I had to care for two infant daughters, as well as figure out how to put food in you and Lee's mouths while I did so. Mom Mom really helped me out during those difficult times."

Tabby caught her breath.

"Aside from thinking about how I was going to raise you two girls properly, I began wondering if it was ever possible for me to find a man that truly loved me. Not only did I never feel beautiful, but I felt used up. No guy would ever want a girl that has had the horrible past that I had."

Tabby looked down into Maries eyes.

"When you were three months old, one of my bosses had taken notice that I did well with customer relations at the restaurant and offered me a catering job at a local United States Armed Forces veteran's hall. The salary was solid, and I would no longer have to rely on tips to get by. Naturally I took the job, after which things really started to look up."

Tabby paused and looked towards the floor.

"And things only got better," said Tabby

Tabby leaned into Maries face and grabbed her hand.

"One night, I was called in to help prepare a surprise homecoming party for a U.S. Marine named Roderick Lonergan." said Tabby.

At the sound of Rods name, Marie knew that she was about to hear the story of May's birth, a story that she had longed to hear since the first time her mother had ever spoke of the circumstances of her daughters births.

"It was an ordinary night, just like any other. I brought all of the food out to the table, heated it up, and waited patiently for the guest of honor to arrive."

Tabby looked into Marie's eyes with a bright expression.

"And let me tell you, I can surely remember the first time that he walked through those doors. He was wearing his uniform, and even from where I was standing I could see his beautiful blue eyes." said Tabby.

At this point, Marie took notice that Tabby was speaking in a different tone of voice as she talked about her first time seeing Rod. It was the same tone of voice that May used when she talked about Ed, and Marie had a feeling of what Tabby was about to say next.

"I couldn't take my eyes off of him, my god did he really look handsome." said Tabby, "The DJ announced that the buffet was open, and I began serving food to all of the members of his family. After a few minutes, he finally reached my station. I can remember glancing up into his blue eyes for the first time and never wanting that moment to end. He must have stood there for around five seconds before I finally spooned the lasagna onto his plate. He continued staring into my eyes as he proceeded onto the next station. And to make things even more special, he was the only person that said thank you to me that entire night."

Tabby paused.

"I really wanted to talk to him, and get to know him, but I was too scared to do it. I didn't know what he would think of me if he knew of the past that I had. The funny thing is that I didn't have to approach him, because after the party, while I was standing outside getting fresh air, he walked up to me and started a conversation. We really hit it off, although I was nervous to no end, and he asked me out to dinner that next night. That amazing dinner was followed by a few more, and each one was more romantic and exciting than the one before it."

Tabby twirled her thumbs while smiling before continuing her story.

"Even though I was nervous about doing so, I knew that I had to be completely honest with Daddy, even if it meant that he wouldn't want to see me anymore. I told him that I had two daughters, and I also told him about the circumstances of your births. I was really expecting him to think less of me, and break off our relationship. But do you know what he said Annemarie?"

"What?" asked a curious Marie.

"He said he didn't know how any man could want to treat such a beautiful woman inside and out so horribly. He had my heart at that moment, I knew I could trust him. He made me feel special and he truly liked me for who I was, not for who I appeared to be."

At this point Marie was beginning to draw some connections. Her mother's relationship with her father seemed to parallel her relationship with Double Dee. Before Marie met Double Dee, she had never felt beautiful or special in any way, and she had certainly never thought she could ever receive love from a man. Marie inadvertently spoke her mind.

"I know how you felt," said Marie, "Edd makes me feel that way all of the time."

Tabby smiled at her daughter, as Marie blushed, not realizing she had spoken her mind.

"So what happened next?" asked Marie, attempting to avoid the awkward moment.

"I decided to finally bring him home, and introduce him to you two girls. Daddy fell in love with you girls instantly. I was amazed that he was so willing to spend time with you. He helped me feed you, change you and do anything else that needed to be done for your well being. On top of that, Poppy loved him, because he was so gentlemanly, and being a Marine just like Poppy didn't hurt either."

Tabby winked at Marie, at which point she chuckled.

"Daddy came to my work almost every day after my shift and walked me around the park. Even though we just talked about any old thing, the moments we shared were amazing. Every word he spoke just made me feel like I was melting inside. I'm sure you know the feeling I'm talking about Annemarie."

Marie blushed, and she looked away from her mother.

"Oh come on Annemarie" said Tabby, "I could tell from the moment you looked him in the eye on Sunday that you were in love with him."

Marie looked up into her mother's eyes and smiled, although she was still blushing. Tabby cracked a smile of her own.

"So Mom," said Marie, "How did May wind up being born?"

Tabby paused before she continued her story.

"Me and Daddy didn't just spend our time lollygagging around talking," said Tabby jokingly, "We spent a pretty good share of our time in the bedroom as well."

Tabby chuckled at her joke as Marie did as well.

"In all seriousness, loving relationships come not only with emotional love, but also physical love. When Daddy and I made love, we were sure to take the proper precautions as to avoid becoming pregnant."

Tabby and Marie were both sitting on the bed blushing. Sex was an awkward topic to discuss for any mother and daughter, let alone a mother and daughter who had just had their first intimate conversation. Nevertheless, Tabby decided to continue.

"One night, Daddy discovered that the condom had broken after we were finished. I think you can figure out what came about next." said Tabby

Marie was quite surprised at what she was hearing, and wanted to hear more of the story.

"So what happened after that?" asked Marie.

"When I began to suspect that I was pregnant, I told Daddy. He already knew that there was a possibility that that had happened, and was prepared when I had told him that we had managed to produce a new life together. Daddy looked me in the eyes, and told me that he would be there for me and our baby no matter what."

Tabby took a puff of her cigarette before turning to Marie.

"Then and there, he looked me in the eyes and said for the first time "I love you Tabitha Kanker." There was only one thing I could think of saying back, and those words were "I love you too Roderick Lonergan."

Marie was absolutely speechless at this point. She had no idea that her mother had such an intimate connection with her father. Marie was sure that he was just yet another one of her mother's boyfriends who she would "have fun" with and May was yet another product of that said "fun".

"A few days later, I received a phone call from my girlfriend that worked with me at the hall to come in for a surprise party that evening. I had thought that Daddy was away with his family, and thankfully Poppy was off and able to watch you and Annalee. As I prepared to get ready to go to work, Poppy decided that he was going to run a few errands and took you and Annalee with him. It seemed quite suspicious but nevertheless I finished getting dressed and headed off towards the hall."

Tabby took a deep breath and cleared her throat before continuing.

"When I got there, I opened the doors and was surprised by what I saw. Mom Mom and Poppy were standing directly in front of me, holding you and Annalee respectively. As I looked around the hall, I saw Rods parents, his sister and various other family members sitting around the tables. Daddy suddenly walked up to me and took my hand. He led me out into the middle of the wooden dance floor, and kneeled down on one knee in front of me. He pulled out a small box with a ring, and politely said, 'Tabitha Jane Kanker, will you marry me?'

"Well don't keep me in suspense, what did ya say!" said an excited Marie.

Tabitha gazed down at her daughter, giggling.

"I didn't say anything," said Tabby, "I jumped into his arms and kissed him like I never kissed him before. I think he had my answer."

Marie and Tabby both shared a chuckle. The tense feelings that characterized the beginning of their conversation had slowly drifted away, and the mother and daughter were feeling much more comfortable around each other.

"After we got engaged, Daddy bought the house that he lives in now, and moved all of us in with him. Things couldn't have been any better. While I was pregnant with Annamae, I took a leave of absence from work to get my GED from the community college. Once we were married, Daddy was going to attempt to take the city fire fighter test and pursue his dream that he had to be a fireman since he was a little boy. With the extra money he would be making as a fireman, he promised he would help me pay to earn a degree to become an X-Ray technician."

Marie could not believe what she was hearing. It sounded as if her father and mother were set for a perfect life together. Marie begged an answer to a question that she felt her mother would struggle with. Marie had always questioned her mother's story that her and her father broke up because she caught him cheating with a prostitute. An act like that just didn't fit his personality. Marie had to know the truth.

"So what happened, why did you never get married?" asked Marie.

Tabby froze as her face filled with an expression of melancholy.

"Remember how I told you that I had a story that may help you out with your problems with Edd?" asked Tabby, "Well listen good to what I'm about to say."

Marie nodded her head as she began listening to the rest of Tabby's story.

"Things went well even after Annamae was born. Even though May was his biological daughter, Daddy treated all three of you like you were his own. He loved you and really cared for you, and I am amazed that he is so much of a man that he still includes you in his plans, even though he's no longer with me. That is why I raised you and Annalee to call him your father, because as far as I'm concerned, he is."

Tabby paused.

"Just after Annamae's third birthday, Daddy happened to be driving home from work one day. At a red light, he noticed that one of my female co-workers was stumbling down the street at night drunk off her ass. He recognized her and being the kind hearted person he was, decided to drive her home knowing what kind of dangers a small drunk woman could face on the streets of the city at night. It just so happened that I was on my way back from a walk to the grocery store. Poppy had you girls back at the house. I waited at the cross walk for the traffic to stop and began walking across the street when I noticed Daddy was stopped at the same street I was crossing. I walked over to his truck and found my friend sitting in his passenger seat. All's I have to say, is that I blew the whole thing out of proportion."

Tabby was attempting to hold back tears once again.

"I ran home, and took you girls back to Poppy's apartment. I was so steamed thinking that Daddy was cheating on me with another woman that I couldn't even think straight. As I was leaving, Daddy pulled up in his truck and attempted to explain the whole thing to me. I didn't want to hear it, and I stormed off with you girls. He explained the whole thing to Poppy, who tried to convince me to talk to him, but I was too damn stubborn to even give him chance.

Tears began streaming down Tabby's face once again.

"He came back every night for about a week, asking me to please talk to him, telling me that he loved me and you girls, and how he wanted us to be a family like we had planned. Finally, I went outside and threw my engagement ring out the door directly at him and told him that it was over."

Tabby was now crying tears profusely and Marie could not do anything but watch helplessly.

"After I said it, I wanted to take it back so bad," said Tabby, "I looked at his face and I could tell he was heartbroken when I threw the ring out the door. I still remember the last words he said to me that night:

_ "Alright, if that's what you want, I can't change your mind. But I'm gonna be there for Annamae, Annalee, and Annemarie no matter what!"_

"I could tell that I really hurt Daddy's feelings, as he walked away attempting to hide tears." said Tabby, "We have spoken since the incident of course as you know, but talking to him has felt awkward every time."

Tabby busted out in tears once again.

"I had the perfect man, the perfect life and everything I ever wanted." said Tabby, "And I blew it over my pride and my stubborn attitude."

Tabby turned to Marie.

"If I just would have talked to him, we would still be together as a family today." said Tabby, "I loved him, and I still really do love him. Do you know how hard it is to look into his eyes whenever he comes to drop money off for you girls? Do you know how hard it is to see him living happily with Linda? That could have been me. She's the luckiest woman on this planet to have his love. I don't deserve it after the way I treated him."

Tabby buried her face in her hand as Marie watched helplessly as her mother displayed long overdue emotions that she had been keeping bottled up inside for years. Marie was now sure of the reason Tabby had told her about her long requited secret; Tabby's relationship and breakup with her father mirrored her and Double Dees predicament.

"Ever since Daddy left, I've been sitting around a shell of the person I was, so much so that I neglected you girl's upbringing. I didn't give you the attention you deserved and I never talked to you about anything. I have three beautiful girls with so much potential. I see what you girls are truly capable of, and I wish that you had the chance to live out a better childhood. Lastly, I convinced you all that men were evil, and started you on the same horrible downhill path that I went on after I quit high school. I failed you as a mother, that's all there is to it.

"Mom!" yelled Marie, "Given all that you have been through, I think that you did the best possible job you could being a mother. Don't you ever even think that you failed us!"

Tabby looked into her daughters tearing eyes and couldn't help but smile at her words. At that moment Tabby leaned into her daughters face and grabbed her shoulders.

"Promise me!" yelled Tabby as tears streamed down her face, "Promise me right now that you'll go talk to Edd tomorrow! I don't want you to spend the rest of your life thinking about what it could have been, or should have been like I do every day! Promise me Annemarie!"

Marie looked at her mother's blue eyes. Tabby's pleas were completely heartfelt, as she did not want to see her daughter follow the same fate as she did. Tabby's story had really hit home with Marie, and made her think about her actions. Eventually, Double Dee would be forced to forget about her if she kept acting the way she did. The thought of loosing Double Dee was too much for her to bear, Marie finally broke out in tears of her own.

"Mom, I love him, I don't want to lose him!" yelled Marie as she continued crying, Tabby reached out her arms and hugged her daughter.

"You won't Annemarie, I promise." said Tabby, "First thing tomorrow in school, talk to him and work things out. Everything's gonna be alright Annemarie."

The mother and daughter sat in an embrace for a few more minutes, after which Marie had been able to calm down. The two sat in the bedroom for a little while longer, while Marie opened up and told Tabby some stories of her own, most notably the story of how she entered a relationship with Double Dee, his synthesis of crankshaft #5 and his dance with her in his house.

"Wow," said Tabby, "He really is a gentleman."

"Yeah," said Marie, "He's always there for me. He's a great guy."

"I'm glad to hear," said Tabby, "Not only that, but he scored major brownie points with me by finding my box."

Marie and Tabby laughed at her joke after which Tabby placed her arm on Maries' shoulder.

"Listen, Annemarie," said Tabby, "I know that we didn't really talk a lot throughout your life, but I'd really like to get to know you girls and start spending more time with you. And don't be afraid to ask me if you need any advice about anything with your relationship or anything else. I'm here for you."

Marie smiled at her mother and hugged her once again.

"Thanks mom," said Marie as her eyes teared up. "If you didn't pull up here, I probably would have made the stupidest mistake I ever did in my life."

"No need to thank me." said Tabby, "Just go to school tomorrow and get back your man!"

Tabby smiled as she hugged her daughter once again. Marie smiled at her as she walked towards the door.

"Annemarie," said Tabby, "When you go down, please send Annalee up to me. I really need to talk to her about something as well."

Marie thought long and hard about what her mother could have wanted to talk to Lee about, until she eventually realized what it was. Marie stood in the doorway thinking about the situation. Tabby had taken notice.

"She's discussed it with you girls huh?" said Tabby.

"Yeah she told us about it," said Marie, "It makes me sick just thinking about it."

"Yeah, I get stomach knots thinking about what that creep Dennis did to her," said Tabby, "I can't believe I went from Daddy to that asshole."

Tabby paused.

"I can't believe that I let something like that happen to my daughter right under my nose," said Tabby in a very distraught voice, "I wish I would have known, and I wish I would have sent her to a therapist after it happened. Now she's filled with so much anger and hatred for the world. I know that she's a really smart and nice girl deep down inside, and I only wish I could help her with the demons she has to face. "

Marie walked over to Tabby.

"It's not too late mom," said Marie, "I want to help Lee too, and so does May."

"Let me talk to Lee alone tonight," said Tabby, "We can all get together on Sunday and talk about this together, and I'll finally tell May about how she was conceived. After all, I think she deserves to know the most."

Tabby giggled, as did Marie. Marie began opening the door, when she felt her mother's arms wrap around her once again.

"I love you Annemarie," said Tabby as she held her daughter.

"I love you too Mom." said Marie, as a tear began streaming down her eye.

"Now go get some shut eye, you got a big day tomorrow!" said Tabby as she winked at her daughter.

Marie smiled and exited the room, closing the door behind her. She descended the stairs to find May and Lee staring at her as she entered the living room.

"What was that about?" whispered Lee.

"We just talked about things," said Marie, "She wants to talk to you now."

"Me?" asked Lee.

Marie put her hand on her shoulder,

"Trust me go up there and talk to her, she has a lot to say." said Marie.

Lee glanced up the staircase and began climbing it. Marie heard the door squeak and latch, indicating that Lee had entered the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

"What did she say?" asked May.

"She told me everything, her life, her childhood, and the truth to how we were all born." said Marie, "She said that she is going to tell you personally about your birth and her relationship with your dad on Sunday. I want her to be the one to tell you."

The girls paused before Marie began speaking once again.

"But what I can say is that she opened my eyes to how stupid I was acting." said Marie.

"You mean…." asked May.

"Yep," said Marie, "Tomorrow morning, I'm getting Double Dee back!"

May wrapped her arms around her sister in a fit of excitement. The girls giggled with each other as they talked about how they were going to go about doing it. While Marie and May continued developing their sisterly bond, powerful words were being spoken upstairs in the bedroom between Lee and Tabby, and long overdue emotions were finally surfacing.

Marie went to sleep that night with a nervous feeling in her stomach. She hoped that Double Dee still loved her and would forgive her for blowing him off this afternoon. Although she was happy that her mother had finally bonded with her, she was quite saddened by her mother's story. Tabby Kanker truly did have a horrible life, and she felt bad that her relationship with Rod had went so sour. Nevertheless there was one thing Marie was sure of. Tomorrow morning, she would keep her promise she had made to her mother; she was going to work things out with her "Oven Mitt."


	49. Chapter 49

**Chapter 49**

At around 6:15 a.m. the winter sun rose over the distant power plant, bathing Peach Creek in a hue of beautiful golden light. As the rest of the Peach Creek teenagers remained in their dreams, the incessant beeping characteristic of a digital alarm clock permeated Double Dee's room. Sleep did not come easily to Double Dee the previous night, and he was quite exhausted. Ed and Eddy had brought Double Dee back to Ed's house to play video games after leaving the Kanker sister's trailer in an attempt to take his mind off of the breakup for a little while. Shortly after they entered, Kevin and Rolf made their way through Ed's bedroom window to join them.

As much as all four boys attempted to lift Double Dee's spirits, he was too upset from the circumstances he was faced with that afternoon to concentrate on anything they were saying. Double Dee was particularly saddened by Marie's last words to him that day.

"_I'm sorry I just can't"_

Those words continued to ring in Double Dees head as he made his way out of the comforts of his quilt. For the first time, he made no attempt to make his bed, and proceeded downstairs to have a bowl of cereal.

Double Dee was of course greeted by a yellow sticky note on the kitchen wall next to the telephone written by his mother. His father was still in Guam finishing up a project for his company and his mother had left around an hour or so earlier to perform a surgery. He took the sticky note off of the wall and quickly read it:

_Edward,_

_ Please mop the kitchen floor, and take out the garbage_

_ Love Mom_

Double Dee sighed as he placed the sticky note down on the table and proceeded to have his bowl of _Cap'n Crunch_. He would set out to perform the tasks that were requested by his mother after he had finished his breakfast. As he ate his cereal, he was reminded heavily of Marie, and the breakfast they had shared after spending the whole night talking on his couch. He longed to be able to share that kind of night with her again. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, and stroke her beautiful black hair once again. He wanted to have her in his arms as he rested, and be able to feel her warmth and smell her beautiful scent.

Just as Double Dee was thinking about Marie, Marie was thinking about her upcoming reconciliation with her boyfriend. All three girls were currently sitting in the upstairs bedroom beginning their morning routine. Lee was searching through the bedroom closet, while May sat on the large bed painting her nails. Marie was sitting in front of the mirror, trying out different hair styles, while Tabby was in the shower preparing herself for work.

"I'm so excited!" yelled May, "I can't wait to see you two together again Marie!"

"Me too!" said Marie as she placed the "Annemarie" necklace Double Dee had given her around her neck. Marie stared into the mirror at herself and pouted.

"I just hope he still wants me back…." said Marie.

"Hey!" said Lee, "That guy loves ya to no end, he's definitely gonna take ya back!"

Lee shuffled through clothes hanging on the bar within the small closet.

"Besides," said Lee, "I'm pickin' out your clothes again. And judging from that hickey ya came home with, I'd say I did a pretty damn good job the first time I dressed ya! He won't be able to take his eyes off ya."

Lee chuckled as she smiled at her sister. Just then, the door to the bathroom opened, and Tabby emerged fully dressed, on her way downstairs to watch a few minutes of the news before work.

"I'm doing your hair and makeup!" yelled May, "I'll start as soon as I get back, I gotta use the girls room."

May left the room to use the restroom, leaving Lee and Marie by themselves. After a few seconds, Lee decided to speak.

"Mom told ya the story about Daddy and her didn't she?"

"Yeah," said Marie, "It honestly broke my heart."

"I know," said Lee, "I would have never expected Mom to be in love. There is so much we don't know about her, and I'm glad she finally told us the truth."

The girls paused.

"She talked to me about what happened to me too." said Lee as she continued going through the closet.

Marie paused before she began speaking. She knew that Lee's abuse was an extremely sensitive topic to her, and she did not want to say anything to upset her. Luckily, before Marie had chance to respond, Lee began speaking once again.

"You don't know how good it felt to finally let it all go," said Lee, "I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was really hurt that all of that stuff happened to me, and she really wanted to help."

Lee paused.

"She told me that she had been bothered by it for a long time and that she has been looking into this retreat that helps victims of child sexual abuse." said Lee, "She asked me if I'd be willing to give it a try. It starts at the end of June and lasts three weeks. It's in a small town somewhere upstate in the mountains, and it's non-profit. They have counselors that will talk to you one on one about your issues, and you get to meet other older survivors of abuse as well."

Lee paused as she looked into her sisters eyes with serious stare.

"I figured I'd give it a shot, maybe it will finally give me that something I've been looking for." said Lee.

Marie stared into her sisters serious eyes through the mirror after which she turned around and walked over to Lee.

"I think that's a great idea Lee," said Marie, "Go for it!"

Lee smiled, after which she hugged her little sister in a tight embrace. Lee leaned her head on her sister's shoulder as she let out small tears from her eyes.

"I love ya Marie," said Lee,

"I love you too Lee," said Marie, "If you ever need me to talk, I'm here for you too."

Lee pulled away from her sister and began looking through the closet once again.

"Mom's gonna call Daddy tonight and discuss it with him too. She's gonna ask him if he can help me get new clothes, swimsuits, and sunglasses for the trip." said Lee, "She said it's right on the beach, and they had pools and spas for the girls."

"That's great Lee." said Marie, "You'll have fun!"

"Besides," said Lee with a grin on her face, "I'm thinking about finally trading that red ugly one piece swimsuit for a two piece. You better watch out Marie! Double Dee's eyes might start fallin' on my goods next summer when we all go down the shore!"

Lee laughed as Marie playfully punched her in the arm. The girls once again calmed down and resumed their activities, after which Lee chimed in once again.

"And I think I'm gonna let my hair grow out again," said Lee in quiet voice, "I think it's time for a change."

Marie had remembered when Lee still had her beautiful long red curls that dangled down past her shoulders. She could also remember being able to look directly into her sisters sparkling blue eyes which were at one time completely unobstructed by her red curly bangs. Even as Marie looked through the old pictures of her family with Double Dee, she couldn't help but notice how pretty Lee's hair had looked.

"I think you should," said Marie, "Your hair was so pretty Lee. And somehow it never even frizzed and was so smooth. I would kill to have those beautiful long red curls!"

Lee chuckled.

"Yeah," said Lee, "Remember when Poppy would call me 'Mini Mommy' cause he said I looked just like Mom."

The girls chuckled before Lee began speaking again.

"I don't know what made me do it," said Lee, "I guess it was all of the anger built up from that creep, and all of the teasing from the girls in school. They always used to make fun of me about my teeth, especially this stupid silver cap. I never felt beautiful, and decided that it was better to be feared in order to survive in that school. I guess that's why changed my appearance and started pushing everybody around."

Lee paused

"Cutting my hair was the stupidest thing I've ever done." said Lee.

"Hey," said Marie, "At least your hair was a normal color. I can't believe that I walked around with midnight blue hair looking like a freakin' weirdo for four years before I finally realized how stupid it was to even dye it in the first place."

Both girls shared a chuckle, after which Lee pulled out a red blouse that, of course, had a slight v-neck designed to show off cleavage, although it was much more conservative than Lee's previous choice for Marie.

"Bingo!" said Lee, "Here's your shirt!"

At this point, May returned to the room smiling.

"What'd I miss?" asked May.

"Yo May, what the hell took ya?" asked Lee, "I thought you were just taking a piss!"

"Well if you must know." said May, as she smiled pompously, "I was brushing my teeth to get ready for my new smile!"

"Oh yeah that's right!" said Lee, "Daddy's taking you to get your braces tonight!"

"Yep!" said May proudly

The girls smiled at May, at which point Lee held up the red shirt to May.

"Yo May!" yelled Lee, "What do ya think about this for Marie?"

"Hubba Hubba," said May, making Marie blush slightly.

"Who the hell even bought all of these shirts with v necks?" asked Marie as she chuckled.

"Beats me," said Lee, "But judging from what you said about Double Dee s eyes that night I sent ya over there in that black dress, I'd say the shy little guy is definitely a boob man!"

Lee and May laughed at Marie causing her to blush slightly.

"Well don't just sit there," said Lee, "Here's some jeans. Get dressed already, you gotta a man to win back!"

May chuckled at Lee's jokes toward her black haired sister. Lee took notice and turned her attention to May. She decided that she couldn't leave May out and offered her assistance as a fashion guru to her blonde haired sister as well.

"And you!" said Lee, silencing May, "We have to find you a nice little dress that will drive your Big Ed nuts!"

Lee snickered as she began digging through the closet once again, as Marie turned to May and stuck her tongue out at her smiling. May returned fire with a tongue lashing of her own, after which she smiled at her sister. Marie grinned at May, indicating that she had an idea.

"Alright Lee," said Marie, "We'll wear what you want use to wear, but it's only fair we get to dress you!"

Lee paused and turned around towards her sisters, who were both displaying sly grins.

"Alright whatever, but nothing too fancy just yet!" yelled Lee.

The girls spent the next fifteen minutes doing each other's hair, makeup, and picking out clothes. The girls were finally forming true sisterly bonds. They were finally doing feminine things with each other, something all three of them had wanted since they were little girls. The three sisters were truly enjoying each others company.

Marie in particular was especially proud of Lee. Lee was, in reality, afraid of the world and what it would think of her. She used her angry words and aggressive actions to cover up her insecurities. She was taking a risk in her own mind by signing up to go on her retreat, but she knew it could possibly help her deal with the demons that have been haunting her for years. Ever since her mother had spoken to Lee, she has said nothing but positive things, and aside from her playful jokes, she no longer delivered insults with nasty intent. Lastly, Marie couldn't wait to see Lee's beautiful red curly locks restored to their original length.

When the girls finished getting dressed, they headed downstairs together to disembark for Peach Creek Junior High. Tabby had yelled up to her daughters that she was leaving for work, and that she would see that night. Most importantly, Tabby shared an "I Love You" with her three daughters. The girls finally made their way out of the trailer, and passed through the construction site, conversing about the finer things in life. Lee and May were quite excited about Marie and Double Dee's upcoming reconciliation; Marie on the other hand was quite nervous. She was hoping that she wouldn't blow it.


	50. Chapter 50

**Chapter 50**

Around the same time that Marie and her sisters had left their trailer, Double Dee had finished mopping the tan colored tiled floor of his kitchen. After quickly taking out the garbage (and washing his hands of the filth that went along with touching the bag), he proceeded to prepare himself for school. Double Dee sighed as he looked himself in the bathroom mirror while he brushed his teeth. From the way Marie had been behaving, it seemed as if all intentions of convincing her to come back to him were hopeless. He began to wonder if anything would ever be the same, even if Marie didn't love him anymore.

At the sound of those words in his head, Double Dee's eyes began to water. The thought of him losing Maries love seemed absolutely absurd, and he had no intentions of giving up what they had. He could only hope that Lee and May could somehow convince her to give him another chance.

Double Dee adjusted his black ski hat, and headed downstairs, fully dressed. Today was the day that welcomed the month of March to Peach Creek. Although it would be around another 20 days until spring would be officially welcomed in, the weather was beautiful. The temperature had already peaked at around 65 degrees, and was expected to rise another 10 degrees as the day went on. Double Dee had dressed in his long blue pants, but had traded in his long sleeved shirt for his red short sleeved summer shirt.

The sky was a beautiful blue, and the sunshine was reflecting brightly off of all of the cars that Double Dee had passed on his bike as he made his way towards Peach Creek Junior High. As he approached the school, he began seeing the faces of many of his fellow students playing various sports and otherwise hanging outside. Most importantly, he took notice of his good friends, Ed, Eddy, Kevin and Rolf, taking advantage of the warm weather by playing a quick game of basketball before homeroom.

Double Dee jumped the curb with his bike, and rode into the confines of the chain link fence that surrounded the school grounds. He drove the bike across the black asphalt to the designated rack, and chained it up directly next to Kevin's prized chrome low-rider bike. After he had finished locking his bike, he proceeded to walk towards his group of friends.

Double Dee walked over to the basketball court and took a seat on one of the benches on the side of the court. Ed was currently in his own little world, as he had found a caterpillar on one of the trees around the court. He had named it "Georgie" and was currently watching it crawl along his arm. The boys were currently playing a game of H-O-R-S-E and it was Rolf's turn to set the shot standard. He was currently dribbling the ball.

"Observe boy Kevin," said Rolf, "Rolf will now place the bouncing sphere in the basket using only his colossal noggin!"

"Make my day!" yelled Kevin, playfully challenging his friend.

Rolf had been practicing the shot he was about to make, and had perfected it to a point to where he could make it without even trying. Rolf lifted the ball over his head with both of his hands and slammed it down onto the concrete. The ball bounced to a height of around 8 feet, with an audible "ring". Rolf waited for the ball to return to the height of his head, at which point he bumped the ball using the top of his forehead with force. The boys watched as the ball soared through the air and landed perfectly in the basket.

"Ho ho" said Rolf, "Rolf does not lie yes!"

"Alright Rolfie Boy!" yelled Eddy as he walked towards the basketball , "I'll sink your prized shot no problem!"

As Eddy picked up the basketball, he glanced around the court and noticed Double Dee sitting on the black bench observing their game.

"Yo Double Dee!" yelled Eddy, "We came by your house this morning but ya didn't answer your door. We thought ya weren't gonna show!"

Double Dee looked towards his short stubby friend.

"Greeting Eddy," said Double Dee in a melancholy voice, "I'm terribly sorry for not responding to the doorbell, I must have been in the shower at the time of your arrival."

"Don't sweat it," said Eddy, "Come on play with us!"

"No thank you Eddy," said Double Dee, "Your invitation is greatly appreciated, but I'm afraid I have no energy to even attempt to participate in your schoolyard game."

Double Dee buried his face in his hands. He was not only physically exhausted from receiving almost no sleep the previous night, but was also extremely emotionally exhausted. Eddy took notice and walked over to Ed who was laughing dopily with his caterpillar.

"Yo Ed," whispered Eddy into Ed's ear, "Make yourself useful and go cheer Double Dee up!"

Ed looked over towards Double Dee and smiled.

"Come on Georgie," said Ed to his new friend, "Let's go introduce you to Double Dee."

Ed walked over towards Double Dee's and took a seat on the end of the bench.

"Hiya Double Dee!" yelled Ed.

Double Dee looked up into Ed's smiling face.

"Greetings Ed," said Double Dee.

"Cheer up mister, for I have found us a new friend!" yelled Ed as he held out his green caterpillar towards Double Dee.

"Say hello to Double Dee Georgie!" yelled Ed, after which he raised the pitch of his voice and made Georgie say hello to Double Dee.

Double Dee had no response to Ed's antics and continued staring forward.

"Don't worry Georgie, Double Dee is nice, he's just sad because Marie doesn't want to talk to him." said Ed.

At this point, Double Dee put his head back down into his hands at the sound of Marie's name. Eddy who was watching, slapped his right hand to his forehead and motioned Ed to come to his position with his fore finger.

"Ed you idiot!" yelled Eddy, "You're supposed to be cheering him up, not making him feel worse!"

"Relax Boys, we'll cheer ya up!" yelled a familiar voice from behind Eddy.

Eddy turned around to see Lee and May Kanker standing in the middle of the basketball court. May was wearing a green sundress with yellow flowers on it, as well as a pair of sky blue slip on shoes. Her blonde hair was parted into two pony tails that hung down in front of her shoulders. Both ponytails were secured by blue bows at their ends. Lee had traded in her usual blue jeans for a black skirt, although she still wore her black shoes. Her red polka dotted t-shirt was gone, replaced by a blue form fitting shirt that showed off stunning curves that had previously been kept concealed. The most notable change in Lee was her hair; she had applied moisturizer to the curls to keep them silky smooth. Her curls were no longer wildly rising above her head, but were delicately draping over her ears. Lastly, she had pushed her bangs out of her eyes leaving her blue irises completely exposed. Lee walked over towards Eddy.

"Mind if we join your game Eddy?" asked Lee while grinning.

Although Eddy had claimed to hate Lee, and Lee had claimed to hate him back, his hormonal impulses had inadvertently caused him to check Lee's body out from head to toe, admiring her curves. He quickly shook off his feeling, and attempted to regain his sense.

"Yeah, sure whatever," said Eddy as he passed the ball to Lee, "But don't get any funny ideas."

Eddy leaned into Lee's ear.

"How are things goin with your sister?" asked Eddy.

"Don't worry," replied Lee, "Just be patient, I have a feeling that today's gonna be the day that our little love birds finally kiss and make up."

Lee winked at Eddy, who couldn't help but grin back at her.

Double Dee watched as Lee dribbled the ball with both of her hands and took a shot at the basket, sinking it much to Eddy's chagrin. As the kids continued their game, May had made her way over towards Ed and was currently conversing with him rather shyly. Double Dee took notice that his Marie was not in school once again, and was quite disheartened that he would have to face another day of emotional turmoil, not even being able to speak to his "Angel"

Just as Double Dee was once again drifting into his thoughts, he felt something hit the back of his head. He looked down towards the concrete and took notice of a balled up piece of stationary paper. Double Dee reached down and un-balled the paper to find handwriting in blue ink. His eyes lit up, as he recognized that hand writing from his note he received the day before Valentine's day, as well as the note he received with his photographs of Marie. On the paper were four words:

_Turn Around Oven Mitt! (smiley face inserted in ink)_

Double Dee wasted no time and whipped his head around, after scanning his surroundings, he took sight of who he had hoped to see. Marie stood leaning on a tree, with her arms folded smiling at Double Dee. She was wearing the red tank top that Lee had picked out for her and a pair of blue jeans. Her shoes were of the same style as May's but were the same color as the shirt she was wearing. Her black hair was accented by her flower beret once again.

Double Dees face filled with a smile when he finally laid eyes on Marie's beauty. As the couple stared at each other from across the court, the rest of their peers had taken notice, watching the reunion between lovers unfold. Double Dee sat smiling at Marie for around two minutes after which Lee began walking over toward him.

"Jesus Christ, do I have to do everything," said Lee as she walked over towards Double Dee. Lee leaned down into Double Dees ear.

"What the hell are you waiting for!" yelled Lee, "Go get her!"

With that Double Dee stood up off of the bench and began walking over towards Marie, rather nervously. Everyone in the court watched as Double Dee finally reached Marie and stared down into her green eyes. He decided to break the silence.

"Um….He…Hello Marie." said Double Dee rather nervously.

"Hi Double Dee," said Marie as she stared up into Double Dees eyes. Double Dee noticed that her eyes were glistening as if they were beginning to tear up.

Double Dee was just about to speak when Marie suddenly lunged forward and wrapped her arms around Double Dees neck in a tight embrace. She buried her face into his chest as she did so. Double Dee wrapped his arms tightly around Marie's back, something which he had longed to do for the last couple days. He took notice that she was wearing Crankshaft #5, an odor which he had missed dearly.

"Double Dee!" yelled Marie, "I'm so sorry for being so stubborn. I knew in the bottom of my heart you wouldn't do anything like that to me. I love you Double Dee, and I don't want to loose you!"

Double Dee looked down into Marie's eyes, as she stared back up at him in tears of joy waiting for a reply. Double Dee thought for a few seconds and finally came up with something romantic to say.

"Don't you worry Annemarie," said Double Dee as he touched his hand to her lips, as if to silence her, "You have me."

Double Dee had retorted using the same exact quote and action that Marie had used to declare the start of their relationship on Valentine's Day. At this point, Marie smiled from ear to ear and began releasing even more tears of joy.

"Marie, I love you," said Double Dee as he placed his hand on her face, "And I am terribly sorry for all of the drama that had occurred. I can't help but think what kind of emotional turmoil you were forced to face for the last couple da…."

Marie cut Double Dee off by grabbing him by his collar, and pulling him down close to her face.

"Just shut up and kiss me already!" said Marie quietly.

Double Dee obliged to Marie's wishes and pressed his lips to hers in front of all of his friends and Marie's sisters. Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck and pulled herself closer to his body. After around five seconds, Double Dee pulled away and embraced Marie tightly, lifting her up off of the ground and spinning her around twice. Although Double Dee was usually quite shy when it came to public displays of affection, he simply did not care at this moment. He was just happy that he was able to hold Marie in his arms once again. All of the cul-de-sac kids in the basketball court watched happily as Marie and Double Dee shared a beautiful emotional reconciliation.

Unbeknownst to Double Dee and Marie, they had also had another distant observer. Tabby Kanker had stopped by the school grounds on her way to work and was currently standing outside the chain link fence smoking a cigarette. She smiled as she watched her daughter reunite with her boyfriend.

"That a girl Annemarie," whispered an extremely proud Tabby, after which she took a draw of her cigarette and proceeded down the street towards work.

Double Dee put Marie down, and touched his lips to hers once again. After locking lips for around 30 seconds, Eddy decided to break the silence in a playful manner. He cupped his left hand over his mouth, and raised his right fist into the air.

"WHOO WHOO WHOO WHOO!" yelled Eddy in a deep voice, as he pumped his fist in the air. His antics eventually caused Ed, Kevin and Rolf to join him, as well as other boys standing around the school grounds. Lee and May chuckled at the boy's jokes while Double Dee and Marie pulled away from each other, smiling, but at the same time blushing. Double Dee grabbed Maries hand and walked her over to where the rest of the students were standing.

"Thank you very much for your encouraging vocalizations Eddy." said Double Dee jokingly.

"Anything for my best bud!" said Eddy, "Now get over here you stud!"

Eddy grabbed Double Dee away from Marie, and placed him in a headlock. At that point, Ed, Kevin and Rolf joined in on the fun, tackling Double Dee playfully. Although Double Dee generally was not a fan of rough housing, he knew the headlocks and playful body slams were just a way for his friends to show that they were happy for him. As the boys played rough, Lee and May had their arms around their sister, and all three girls were jumping up and down excitedly.

The situation had eventually died down, and as Kevin, Ed and Rolf continued to congratulate Double Dee, Eddy decided that it was time to formally apologize to Marie. He walked over to the black haired Kanker sister and looked up into her eyes.

"Marie," said Eddy, "I am so sorry for everything that I did, I re…."

Marie cut him off.

"You don't need to say anything Eddy," said Marie, "I heard what you said at the trailer yesterday, and I could tell that you meant the words you said. That took guts to admit what you did!"

Eddy smiled at Marie, after which she walked away to join her love once again. As Eddy watched Marie walk towards Double Dee he felt a hand touch him on the shoulder. He looked up to see Lee Kanker staring down at him.

"Looks like our little plan finally worked," said Lee as she smiled.

"Yep," said Eddy.

Lee leaned down into Eddy's face.

"Ya know," said Lee, "It really did take guts to admit what you did. I'm proud of you Eddy."

Lee smiled and kissed Eddy on the cheek. She pulled away and began walking back towards the center of the basketball court, leaving Eddy to rub his cheek dry.

At this point, Kevin and Rolf had resumed shooting hoops together. While Eddy, Lee, Double Dee and Marie shot the breeze in the middle of the basketball court, a very happy Ed sat quietly on the bench. May had taken notice of Ed's prescience on the bench and decided to join him to make conversation.

"Don't they look so cute together Ed?" asked a happy May.

"Double Dee and Marie are happy couple once more!" yelled Ed.

May decided that it was time for her to ask an all important question; a question she was quite afraid to ask.

"Um…Ed?" asked May, "Um…I know we were only supposed to work together to get Marie and Double Dee back together, but I really liked hanging out with you."

Ed looked into Mays eyes with a dumbfounded expression on his face. May looked down at the ground away from Ed and blushed as she spoke.

"I was just wondering if you …uh… maybe wanted to start over. You know as friends?"

May looked up into Ed's eyes waiting for a response. To her dismay, Ed said absolutely nothing as he stared down into her face. May was quite heartbroken.

"I see why you wouldn't want to, after I chased you and kissed you without asking, and beat you guys up, and….."

May was suddenly cut off by Ed, who grabbed her in a bear hug. Ed paused for a split second before he yelled.

"A friend of Double Dees is always a friend of mine!" yelled Ed

May had no idea what to do, she was literally paralyzed out of pure joy. After a few minutes she smiled up into Ed's eyes, and then glanced over at Marie, who winked at her sister, congratulating her for her success in becoming slightly closer to her crush.

"Looks like we got another Kanker-Ed match made in heaven coming along!" yelled Lee jokingly.

Eddy walked over to Double Dee, who was standing with Marie holding her hand. Eddy leaned into Double Dees ear.

"Yo Double Dee," said Eddy, "Just wonderin, are your parents gonna be home Saturday night?"

"It's funny you should ask Eddy," said Double Dee enthusiastically, "It just so happens that mother is going to be working all night on Saturday, and father is not expected to be back from…"

Eddy had not let Double Dee finish his sentence before he cut off his friend. Eddy began yelling.

"Alright everyone!" yelled Eddy, "Listen up!"

All of the kids in the court turned their attention towards Eddy.

"The reunion of our favorite little egg head, and his lovely lady calls for a celebration." said Eddy, at which point he cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs.

"PARTY AT DOUBLE DEES HOUSE ON SATURDAY NIGHT!" yelled Eddy,

"Righteous!" yelled Kevin.

"Now that's what I'm talkin about!" yelled Lee.

"Now wait just a minute Eddy," yelled Double Dee, "You can't possibly be thinking of hosting a party at my residence"

"Come on Double Dee, lighten up." said Eddy, "We won't break anything in your house, we just wanna have a little innocent celebration for you and your girl."

Double Dee looked around the basketball court, and noticed that everyone was staring at him with a grin waiting for a reply. Double Dee sighed.

"Party at my house!" yelled Double Dee in an unenthusiastic tone.

Everyone in the basketball court cheered at Double Dees statement. Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dees neck and whispered into his ear.

"Don't worry pumpkin, it'll be fun!" said Marie after which she smiled into her boyfriends eyes. Double Dee smiled back at his girlfriend, after which she delivered him a peck kiss on the lips.

Just then the school bell rang, signaling all of the students to report to homeroom. Kevin and Rolf immediately began running out of the court towards the school. The Kankers and the Ed's shared different homerooms, thus the two groups of three would be forced to say goodbye until lunch time.

"I really missed you Double Dee," said Marie as she hugged her boyfriend.

"I really missed you too." replied Double Dee as he embraced Marie.

"I'll see ya at lunch okay cutie?" said Marie as she stared into Double Dees eyes with a smile.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." said Double Dee as he smiled into Marie's eyes.

A few feet away from Marie and Double Dee stared into Ed's eyes for a few seconds before she began speaking.

"So, Ed do you wanna sit together at lunch again?" asked a nervous May.

"At lunch time, with me you will sit." said Ed in a dopey, yet enthusiastic tone.

May smiled, and darted towards Ed quickly, wrapping her arms around him. Ed was taken aback by Mays embrace at first, but slowly yet surely began to wrap his arms around the much smaller May as well.

The two embraced for a few seconds after which May pulled away and began walking towards the school. Marie had just kissed Double Dee goodbye, and joined her sister on their walk to first period.

"Yo Eddy, we'll talk later about how we're gonna make this party a night to remember!" yelled Lee as she playfully blew him a kiss before turning around to walk away with her sisters.

The boys watched as the Kanker sisters began their trek towards the school talking amongst themselves.

"Well then," said Eddy, "I guess we gotta start thinking about this party you got goin 'on Double Dee!"

"Excuse me!" yelled Double Dee, "This party _I_'vegot going on? You were the one who suggested to use my house as the venue for your social gathering Eddy."

"Hey, it's the least I could do for ya!" yelled Eddy as the boys began walking towards the school.

"Besides," said Eddy, "Parties bring chicks, and that means it's my time to shine!"

Double Dee looked at Eddy in the face and cracked a smile.

"Boy's" said Eddy as he put his arms around his two best friends, "I'll be finding a dream girl of my own on Saturday night."

The boys all shared a laugh as they approached the entrance to the school.

"Let's go," said Eddy as he opened the steel door to the school for his friends, "We got some planning to do."


	51. Chapter 51

**Chapter 51**

The Ed boys had been so preoccupied by the events that had occurred out on the basketball court that they barely had time to exchange their books at their lockers. Double Dee was once again panicking as he and his friends bolted towards room 103. Once again, they had just barely made it into the classroom as the teacher was beginning to take roll. The boys took their seats together, behind the newly reconciled Kevin and Nazz. Nazz turned around to her friends.

"Double Dee," said Nazz, "Congratulations dude on getting Marie back. You two deserve each other."

"Thank you Nazz." said Double Dee, "You don't know how much of a relief it is to have Marie's trust once again."

Double Dee paused.

"Ah Marie," said Double Dee to himself in a dream like voice, "How I long to feel your delicate touch."

All of the boys stared at Double Dee, who was surprised that he had just inadvertently let words that were meant to be kept within his mind out of his mouth. Eddy saw a perfect opportunity to tease his friend.

"OOOHHHH!" said Eddy, "I'm sure you really long to feel her_ delicate touch!_"

Eddy began laughing as Kevin slapped him five joining in on the merriment. Nazz simply turned around away from the conversation.

"Boys," she whispered to herself sarcastically, after which she sighed and buried her face in her _Cosmo Girl_ magazine.

Double Dee blushed heavily upon seeing his friends laughing at his expense, as he still did not feel particular comfortable being the butt of a joke that dealt with the subject at hand. Nevertheless, Double Dees reconciliation with Marie had made him feel on top of the world, and his confidence level had shot up drastically. He decided to retort.

"Ha Ha Eddy!" said Double Dee, "At least I long for the delicate touch of my lady friend, and not the touch of my own right hand!"

Double Dee snickered as Eddy sat shocked at Double Dees joke. Kevin began laughing hysterically; his girlfriend Nazz, although not particularly fond of pig headed jokes, couldn't help but begin chuckling as well.

"Dude!" yelled Kevin, "He just trashed you!"

Double Dee and Kevin began laughing at Eddy's expense. Eddy was no longer amused now that he was on bad of a joke, but nevertheless knew that his friends were just playing around with him.

"Ah shut up all of ya!" yelled Eddy after which he grinned.

The rest of homeroom flew by rather quickly, and before the boys knew it the bell had rang indicating the beginning of first period.

"Alright boys!" said Eddy as he parted ways with his two good friends at the hallway junction, "I'll catch ya later in Bio!"

"Salutations Eddy!" yelled Double Dee.

"See ya Eddy!" yelled Ed as he ran to join Double Dee.

As Double Dee and Ed began making their way towards Ms. Volin's English class, Eddy was making his way to his first period class, Spanish class.

Eddy walked into the classroom and took a seat in the back of the room as he usually did. As he twirled his pencil in his hand to pass the time, he heard the sound of a book bag slam on the floor next to him.

Eddy looked down towards the floor to see a leather back pack sitting near the desk next to him. Eddy's eyes glanced up towards the ceiling, and before he knew it he was in direct eye contact with a pair of glistening blue eyes.

"Hiya shrimp!" said Lee Kanker jokingly as she began sitting down in the chair next to Eddy, "I was feeling kind of generous, so I figured I'd give ya the honor of sittin' next to me this period."

Eddy sighed.

"Whatever ya say Lee," said Eddy, "Just don't get too comfortable!"

"Trust me I won't," said Lee, "I'm just here to make ya look good!"

Just then the teacher entered the room and silenced the class so that she could begin her lecture. As the rest of the class took notes, Eddy leaned into Lee and whispered.

"By the way?" asked Eddy, "How the hell did ya get Marie to come around and talk to Double Dee?"

Lee paused after which she snickered.

"I didn't," said Lee, "You can thank my mom for that one!"

"Your mom?" asked Eddy.

"Yeah," said Lee, "She overheard us arguing over it and called Double Dee upstairs. She somehow beat some sense into the Marie's head and got her to listen to reason."

Lee had not told Eddy the details of the intimate conversation she had had with her mother, but she had told him the just of what happened to satisfy his curiosity.

"Well that's good," said Eddy, "I'm happy for him and all, but the best thing is that I can steal answers off of Double Dee again now that he's back to reality."

"Hey at least you get something out of it!" said Lee, "Now Marie's gonna be back to parading around the trailer all happy go lucky, never shutting up about "her Double Dee, Oven Mitt, Dreamboat, or whatever the hell else she calls him."

The two teenagers giggled at each other's jokes, a remarkable action considering their violent past together. Even though there were tensions between Eddy and Lee in the past, deep down inside, both boy and girl enjoyed making jokes with each other. Eddy decided to push forward with another joke.

"Yeah you should have been there for the best one!" said Eddy

Eddy told Lee about the jokes he had made in homeroom towards Double Dee about his "intimate" life with Marie. Eddy had slightly modified the story in order for it to look like he had made Double Dee the butt of the joke instead of the other way around. The joke prompted laughter between Eddy and Lee, and disrupted the class. The teacher was not a pushover, and before they knew it, "Ms. Kanker and Mr. McGee" were invited to the language office to share a lunch detention together.

As Lee and Eddy were having a good time in their spanish class, Double Dee had taken a seat in the front of the classroom next to Ed. Ed was currently drawing crude pictures of monsters from a movie he had seen the previous night in his notebook, while Double Dee was organizing his books on his desk.

May Kanker-Lonergan, who shared an English class with the two boys had just walked in, carrying her pink book bag. The single pink strap passed over her shoulder and down her chest to connect to the bottom of the bag. The bright pink color stood out against the beautiful green color of her sundress.

May would have made an attempt to sit next to Ed if he wasn't already at the end of the row. She instead bypassed his row to take the seat directly behind him. As May walked passed Ed, she blushed while she held her hand up and waved her fingers at him

"Hi Ed!" said May using her adenoidal voice in a long drawn out tone.

"Hi May!" yelled Ed enthusiastically

Ed stared into May's eyes as she walked past him and took a seat behind him. As soon as May was out of view, Ed turned to Double Dee.

"Um Double Dee?" asked Ed

"Yes Ed," said Double Dee.

"When May walked by, my tummy started feeling all wiggly inside," said a concerned Ed.

Double Dee took a look at his best friend and then turned his attention to the row behind them. May was sitting directly behind Ed with her cheeks resting on the palms of her hands. She was staring dreamily at the back of Ed's head as she did so. Double Dee chuckled to himself.

"Well Ed," said Double Dee, "I must admit that I know the sensation that you are currently feeling all too well."

Ed turned around in his chair and locked eyes with May. May quickly became embarrassed and blushed while looking down towards her desk. Ed felt a wave of warmth pass through his cheeks as well after which he quickly turned around away from May. Double Dee grinned as he watched his friend succumb to the same feelings that he felt whenever he was around Marie. He was glad for May that she was able to begin to show Ed her true colors.

The slightly awkward moment was broken by the arrival of Ms. Volin, who began giving her lecture. The class was currently discussing the chapter of the book that they were supposed to have read last night. The teacher lectured on the chapter for a few minutes before she decided to allow the students to pair up for a class assignment.

Ed leaned towards Double Dee, and was about to ask him to work with him when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Ed turned towards his left and looked up into May's blue eyes. Ed's face once again turned red as did May's.

"Hiya Ed!" said May, "Looks like we have a writing assignment."

May leaned in close to Eds ear while blushing.

"Can I be your partner?" asked May as she smiled.

May blushed as if waiting for an answer. Ed turned around to Double Dee, seeking guidance from his brainy best friend on the situation he was being presented with. Double Dee motioned with his hands for Ed to go with May. Ed turned around and stared at May for a few seconds before he reluctantly got up out of his seat and followed May to a pair of empty seats to work with her.

Double Dee smiled as he stood up to attempt to find a partner for his assignment. He had always worked with Ed on all of his English assignments due to being his good friend, even though Double Dee had always wound up doing all of the work. He had not been out of his desk for two minutes when he felt a hand grab his shoulder.

"Hello Ed Boy!" said a high pitched voice with a Norwegian accent. Double Dee instantly recognized the voice and turned around to see Rolf smiling.

"Rolf requests that you assist him with this babble babble English, as your previous assistance has made Nana proud of this son of a shepherd!" said Rolf, "Come now, we must begin!"

Rolf pulled Double Dee down and sat him down in a desk on the far side of the room. Rolf followed suit and quickly took the desk next to him.

"These days hearken Rolf back to his time of learning how to spin the yarns using these bizarre words. The great Nano….."

As Rolf began telling yet another one of his long drawn out stories about his family, Double Dee began working on their assignment all by his lonesome. As he wrote the paper, he periodically glanced across the room at May and Ed, who were both staring confused at their piece of paper. Eventually, Ed began writing something down on the paper using his pencil while May smiled at him as he did so. Double Dee was happy that May was finally getting her wish.

Double Dee turned his attention back to his paper. After writing for around five minutes, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his attention upward to see a very confused Ed and May standing over him. Ed was holding his paper out towards Double Dee.

"Um Double Dee," asked Ed, "Can you help us with our essay?"

Double Dee placed his pencil down on his desk and took the paper off of Ed. As he glanced over the paper, he took note of severe grammar and punctuation mistakes, as well as various incorrectly conjugated verbs and malapropisms.

"I would be delighted to help your two with your essay as soon as I complete mine!" said Double Dee as he smiled into Ed's eyes. Ed and May both returned a smile. In short, Double Dee found himself writing two essays that day, although only one of which would count towards his grade.

The rest of the day flew by rather quickly for Double Dee and his two friends. While Eddy and Lee spent their time at lunch detention, making more jokes behind the gym teachers back, Double Dee, Marie, May and Ed spent their time sitting together at lunch discussing the finer things in life. Ed was still quite apprehensive to May's romantic advances, but was gradually beginning to develop his own feelings for May as well, although he had no idea how to express them properly.

At exactly three o' clock, the dismissal bell rang at Peach Creek Junior High, releasing the students for their weekend. All of the students naturally rushed out of the school as they did every Friday afternoon, and the Ed's and the Kanker's were no exception. Double Dee was currently walking out of the school with Marie, holding her hand as he did so.

"So Marie," asked Double Dee as he smiled at his girlfriend, "May I be so honored as to be graced with your prescience this evening at my residence?"

Marie smiled at her boyfriend.

"You and those sexy big words!" said Marie as she reached up and pulled on his cheek with her hand, "Sure I'd love to come over your house, but is it okay if I come over a little later than usual. Me and Lee are going to my mom's restaurant after school to pick up some food to bring to the party on Saturday, and May is getting her braces put on today."

"Wow really, that's great she must be excited beyond belief!" said Double Dee.

"She really is" said Marie, "My Dad is picking her up after school to take her right to the dentist. She should be home around 4:30. Then we're gonna spend some time with my mom after she gets home from work."

"That's great!" said Double Dee, "I'm glad to hear that you are going to be spending time with your mother."

"Yeah," said Marie, "If it wasn't for her, I probably would still be hauled up in my trailer refusing to speak to you!"

Marie giggled with Double Dee before she leaned into Double Dee's face and pecked him on the lips.

"Wait your mother actually assisted in our reconciliation?" said Double Dee quite nervously.

"Don't worry cutie," said Marie, "I'll explain later at your house. I should be there around 8:00, if that's okay?"

"That is perfectly fine Marie," said Double Dee, "And I most certainly cannot wait for our little rendezvous."

Marie smiled at her boyfriend as she walked out of the school. The two held hands as they descended the stairs and joined their friends in the schoolyard. May was currently talking to Ed rather shyly about their school day as Lee poked fun at them with Eddy, playfully of course. After a few minutes, a large red truck pulled up outside the school grounds.

"There's Daddy now!" yelled Lee.

"Wish me luck!" yelled May as she picked up her book bag and began making her way towards Rod's truck. Marie and Lee both hugged their sister before she departed.

"Just don't let them drill too much!" said Lee as she snickered.

May was slightly taken aback, as she was slightly fearful of the dentist. Lee quickly reassured her that she would not be getting drilled before sharing a giggle with her youngest sister. May ran off towards the truck as her sisters bid her goodbye.

"You're gonna look great when you get home!" yelled Marie.

May turned around and smiled as she hoped into Rods truck. As soon as May had shut the door, Rod pulled briskly away from the school.

"So Oven Mitt," said Marie as she wrapped her arms around Double Dee with a sly grin on her face, "I guess I'll be seeing you tonight!"

"Sure thing," said Double Dee.

Marie leaned her face in and touched her lips to Double Dees for around 10 seconds as Lee, Eddy and Ed watched.

"I love you Double Dee." said Marie

"I love you too Marie," said Double Dee.

Double Dee leaned his face in and kissed Marie for another few seconds before Lee playfully walked over and pulled her away from him.

"Alright turtledoves," said Lee as she pulled Marie towards the gate to the school, "Save the make-up lovey dovey stuff for his house tonight. We got work to do!"

Marie waved her hand at Double Dee as she walked out of the school yard.

"See ya Double Dee," said Marie quietly.

"Goodbye Marie," said Double Dee.

Double Dee watched as his girlfriend and her red headed sister exited the school grounds on the way to the business district. Marie had been sure to stop and blow her boyfriend a kiss right before she had disappeared from view.

Double Dees thoughts were interrupted by Eddy's hand slapping him on the back.

"Come on Sock Hea….er…Double Dee," said Eddy, "We got work to do!"

Eddy had caught himself calling Double Dee "Sock Head". He was afraid to call Double Dee by that nickname because of the sensitivity he had surrounding the incident with James. Double Dee smiled into Eddy's face.

"No need to hold yourself back Eddy," said Double Dee, "Address me as Sock Head if you wish. I view it as a term of endearment between two friends."

Eddy smiled at Double Dee's statement, after which he continued speaking.

"Round up that "Ed Mobile" of yours and plot a course for my place." said Eddy, "We got some work to do for this little shin dig on Saturday. Come on Mono Brow!"

Double Dee unlocked the bike and soon after, all three boys were pedaling their way back to the cul-de-sac. After around a ten minute ride, the boys had finally wound up in Eddy's back yard. Eddy pulled out his bedroom key, and unlocked the door. He allowed his two friends to enter the room before him after which he closed his sliding wooden door behind him. The boys would spend the next few hours going through Eddy's records, planning music for the upcoming party.

Lee and Marie's afternoon was quite uneventful in comparison to the Ed's. Lee and Marie had stopped by their mother's restaurant, and had carried home two trays containing stuffed shells and baked ziti. After placing the trays in their refrigerator, they waited outside in the beautiful weather for the return of their little sister with her braces.

It was around 4:15 when the two girls finally caught sight of Rod's truck entering the trailer park. Both the red and black haired Kanker sisters jumped off of the metal step as they watched the truck draw closer. Rod's truck eventually stopped directly in front of the trailer, at which point Rod placed the vehicle in park.

The girls ran over to the truck to greet Rod. As they leaned into the window, they took notice that May was stepping out of the truck from the passenger seat, the place where Linda would usually be sitting. It seemed very odd that Linda would be missing out on a moment like this in her boyfriend's daughter's life, as she was relatively close to May.

Rod greeted the girls with smile and kissed both of them on the cheek. He seemed as if he was physically drained, and looked as if he hadn't received sleep in a few days. The girls stepped back to allow May to kiss her father goodbye. After Rod shared his goodbyes with his daughter, he shifted his truck into drive and began driving out of the trailer park.

May was still facing the direction of the trailer park entrance, and the girls have yet to see their little sisters new smile.

"Yo May!" yelled Lee, "Turn around let us see that smile of yours!"

May obliged and turned towards her sisters. May did in fact have her braces; there were silver brackets adorning the surface of all of her teeth. Two silver wires passed though all of the brackets on her upper and lower jaw from molar to molar. The wires were secured to the brackets by green ligatures. Inside her mouth, two elastic rubber bands connected a bracket on her upper jaw to her lower jaw, and would ensure proper correction of her over bite.

Although May had gotten her wish, she was not smiling. She was staring off into the distance as if she had something heavy on her mind. Lee and May glanced at each other and walked over towards their sister.

"May, you look great!" said Marie, "In a few months, you'll have the beautiful smile you always dreamed of and Ed will be goin' crazy over you!"

May had no response and continued to stare forward. Lee took notice and playfully punched her sister on the arm.

"Oh come on May, loosen up!" yelled Lee as she giggled, "I heard it hurts when they put them in and tighten them, but it couldn't have hurt that bad."

At this point, Lee had realized that May's unusual emotions were caused by much more than the pain of her recently tightened braces. Lee glanced at Marie rather quickly, after which she walked towards her blonde haired little sister and placed her arm around her.

"May," asked Lee in her motherly voice, "Is something bothering you?"

May's eyes appeared as if she was about to tear up.

"What's the matter May?" asked Marie as she placed her hand on her sisters shoulder.

May looked up into Lee's eyes and finally began speaking.

"On Wednesday night, Daddy caught Linda in bed with another man."


	52. Chapter 52

**Chapter 52**

"WHAT!" replied Lee and Marie simultaneously after hearing May's statement. The two girls glanced at each other before turning their attention back to an upset May.

"Hold on a minute," asked Lee, "Let's me get this straight. Did you just say that Linda was cheating on Daddy?"

May shook her head up and down, after which she looked towards the ground holding back tears.

"Alright come inside," said Lee as she motioned May into the trailer, "Let's talk about this."

Lee and Marie led May into the trailer and sat her down on the couch. For once, Lee had gotten her little sister a soda, instead of the other way around. May opened her soda, with an audible hiss and click, after which she took a small sip and placed the can on the coffee table. The girls sat in silence, contemplating what May had just told them. They still could not believe that the words May had spoken were true. If it wasn't for May's unusual non bubbly demeanor, they most likely would have disbelieved her.

"But….how?" asked Marie, breaking the silence, "They were close."

May paused before she began speaking.

"I got in the back seat of the truck, thinking that Linda would be sitting in the front seat. When I looked in the front seat I didn't see Linda. Daddy told me that it was gonna be just me and him today, and let me sneak up front into the seat next to him."

May paused, and took a breath.

"He started asking me about school, and when I looked at him I could tell that something was wrong with him. He sure was tired, his eyes were red, and he looked like he had something on his mind. That was when I asked him where Linda was." said May.

Lee and Marie sat in suspense waiting to hear what their little sister had to say.

"He said, 'There's something I have to tell you little girl'. Right then I knew something had to have happened."

May took a sip of her soda before she continued.

"He told me that him and Linda have been having problems with their relationship for the past few weeks." said May.

"Really?" asked Marie, "They seemed like they were in love with each other at the ice rink."

"He said that when we weren't there, there was so much fighting going on. Linda didn't like that their relationship had lost "spunk" or something, I don't remember what Daddy called it."

"So," asked Lee, "What happened that night?"

May swallowed before she continued her story.

"Well, he said that on Wednesday, his boss asked him if he wanted to stay at work later for overtime pay. Daddy said yes and called Linda to tell her that he would be home later that night. Well, he got done earlier than expected."

May paused.

"He didn't tell me exactly what happened," said May, "But he said that when he came home, another truck was parked in front of his house that he never saw before. He went into the house and all of the lights were out in the living room. He went upstairs to get changed opened his bedroom door, and turned the lights on. That's when he caught her."

"Damn," said Lee, surprised.

"What did he do?" asked Marie.

"He said he was devastated," said May, "And for the first time ever, Daddy looked like he was going to cry while he told me about it."

May paused.

"Daddy did the only thing he could do," said May, "He said he told the guy to 'get out of his house'. He said the guy walked over to him, and started picking on his height. Daddy said the guy was about 6'5", and began teasing him, saying things like, 'This is the midget man you said ain't showin ya no love!' and stuff like that. Linda actually laughed with the guy while he was making fun of Daddy."

"That's horrible…." said Lee, surprised beyond belief.

"After that Daddy said the guy walked over to him and started pushing him, and teasing him some more."

"Wait the guys was picking on Daddy in _his _own house?" asked Marie, "That's kind of messed up!"

May paused, after which she smiled slightly.

"Daddy started smiling as he told the next part. The guy didn't even think that Daddy had spent six months training to specialize in 'search and destroy' and 'close quarters combat' while he was in the Marines. When the guy put his hands on Daddy, he had every right to use his martial arts skills to defend himself."

May paused as she looked into Lee's eyes smiling slightly.

"All's Daddy said was that the scuffle probably left the guy with a black eye and a sprained wrist. That's all the damage he had to do before he ran downstairs and out the door." said May.

"Good!" shouted Marie, "He ran like a little sissy!"

"I bet Linda wasn't laughing anymore after that was she!" said Lee as she snickered.

"Nope," said May, "After that, Daddy told her to get out of his house; she didn't wait one minute to get dressed and walk out that door!"

"How could she be so low!" yelled Marie, "If she didn't want to see him anymore, why didn't she just tell him instead of bringing some sleaze bag into his bed!"

"She had no right to do that to him!" yelled Lee, "Daddy's a nice guy!"

"The best thing is that she tried to come back to the house the next night to apologize." said May, "Even after laughing at Daddy with the guy, she still wanted him to take her back."

"What Daddy say to her then?" asked Marie.

"He slammed the door in her face!" said May.

All of the girls started giggling after which Marie broke the silence.

"I did feel really bad seeing him so upset," said Marie, "I could tell that he didn't get any sleep and that he was really hurt from it."

"That's what he said," said May, "He said that he was hurt by it all, but life goes on. He then told me that this wasn't the first time he was hurt, and that he had lost a woman that was even more special to him before."

Lee and Marie looked at each other. There was no doubt that the woman Rod was referring to was in fact their mother. May had still not been told the story about her mother and Rod. Tabby wished to tell it to May herself and Marie and Lee respected their mother's wishes. The girls remained silent before Lee finally began speaking once more.

"I still can't believe she would do that!" said Lee, "She seemed like she was such a nice person!"

"I know," said Marie, "She was always nice to us. She even taught me that piano for all of those years. I never even knew that they were having any kind of problems."

"I feel bad for poor Daddy," said May, "He looked horrible, I wish we could help him!"

"Me too," said Marie, "I knew something was wrong as soon as I saw him."

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes. All three girls were still in denial of the story that they had just heard. They had never thought that after all of these years of apparent peace, that Linda would have resorted to cheating on Rod. Lee decided that it was about time to remove the melancholy ambience from the room and brighten up the conversation.

"So how was the dentist anyway?" asked Lee.

"Oh!" yelled May, "I almost forgot, they told me to brush my teeth as soon as I got home. They put this gross stuff in my mouth that was supposed to help them fit the braces, and some of it is still in between my teeth. I'll be right back, then I promise I'll tell ya all about it!"

"Okay!" said Marie as May ran up the stairs. Lee and Marie both waited until they heard the door to the bathroom shut and latch before they turned to each other.

"I can't believe it," said Marie.

"Me neither," said Lee, "I really thought that they were happy together, I guess they really weren't. Now it's really no wonder why they never got married for all of those years!"

Marie gazed up the stairs to be sure that May was still in the bathroom.

"You think we should tell Mom?" asked Marie.

Lee paused, and contemplated for a few seconds before she finally answered.

"I don't see why not." said Lee, "She's bound to find out at some point anyway."

Marie nodded towards Lee, after which the girls sat in silence. After around ten minutes May began descending the stairs

"I'm back!" yelled May in her obnoxious voice

"I can see that!" yelled Lee in a sarcastic tone, "Now sit down and smile!"

May sat down on the couch and smiled at her sisters with her braces for the first time. Lee was sure to grab her head and reposition it at different angles to get a complete look at her new little sister.

"Lookin good May!" yelled Lee.

"Really?" asked May as she got up to smile into the mirror on the wall. A concerned May then turned around to her sisters

"Do you think Ed will like them?" asked May.

"Why wouldn't he?" asked Marie, "Judging by the way he hugged ya in that basketball court, I'd say you're on your way into his heart."

"You really think so?" asked May excitedly as her eyes lit up.

"Don't encourage her!" yelled Lee playfully as she got up to get herself a soda. "It's bad enough I already got one of my sisters prancing around here never shutting up about her man, I don't need another one."

Marie grinned at Lee.

"Ah shut up Lee," yelled Marie, "You just never felt the kind of feeling that me and May have, and I think your jealous."

"Huh!" said Lee as she opened the door to her refrigerator, "You gotta be out of your freakin mind to think I want to be in love."

Lee pulled a soda out of the refrigerator and began walking back into the living room. She took a seat on the couch next to Marie.

"Besides, when you're as hot as me, you can have any guy you want!" yelled Lee, after which she snickered. Her two sisters joined in on her joke as well.

Just then the door to the trailer opened. Tabby had gotten off of work earlier than usual and did not have to return for night work that night. She was wearing a blue short sleeved blouse, a pair of blue jeans, and the infamous black high heeled boots known for causing hip sway. She had decided that she was going to use her time off to bond with her daughters.

"Hey girls." said Tabby as she closed the door behind her.

"Hi Mom," replied all three sisters.

Tabby walked over to her youngest daughter and smiled down at her.

"C'mon, let me see don't keep me waiting!" said Tabby in a tone of voice that sounded similar to Lee.

May looked up at her mother, and for the first time smiled willingly. May had never smiled as proudly as she did due to her embarrassing overbite. She was obviously much more confident now that she knew that she was on her way to a perfect smile.

"Beautiful!" said Tabby as she stared into her daughters eyes, "How was it anyway?"

Tabby stood unpacking leftovers that the restaurant had allowed her to take home as May told her mother and her sisters her story of how she was fitted with braces. May was quite afraid of the dentist, and had in fact not visited the dentist as often as she should have. Although the process the orthodontist used to fit her with her braces scared her half to death, she was proud that she was able to get it done.

The girls and their mother shared some more laughs before Tabby began ascending the staircase.

"I'll be right down," said Tabby, "And then we'll go."

The girls sat confused at Tabby's last statement.

"Go where?" asked Lee.

Tabby paused when she was about halfway up the stairs and looked down into her daughter's eyes. She uttered a final statement before she continued her way up to the bedroom.

"It's been 27 years, and it's time that I finally headed home."


	53. Chapter 53

**Chapter 53**

It was around 3:35 when the "Ed Mobile" had finally reached the cul-de-sac. Eddy had taken control and decided to drive the bike home. He managed to get the boys home in ten minutes. Eddy jumped the curb at the corner, and stopped the bike in front of Double Dees lawn. Double Dee quickly took the bike out to his yard to lock it in the shed, after which he rejoined his friends to head to Eddy's house. The boys crossed Rathink Avenue, bypassing a mid-sized split level house, which had remained vacant since last summer, as well as Kevin's green and yellow residence. When the boys finally reached Eddy's house, they were of course led out to the yard so they could enter through Eddy's private door.

"Alright boys." said Eddy as he opened the door to his room and walked in, "You know the drill make yourselves at home."

Ed did not hesitate to take up Eddy's offer. He ran into the room and planted himself on Eddy's round bed, watching his lava lamp in awe. Double Dee merely followed Eddy across his room towards his stash of records.

"We're gonna bring this party outta the pee wee league and into the majors," said Eddy as he began going through his records. Double Dee began sorting through the records as well and was surprised that almost every record he found was a disco recording.

"You're records are a tad outdated aren't they?" asked a concerned Double Dee.

"Don't worry," said Eddy calmly, "Fad's always come back. We learned that last summer, remember?"

"I highly doubt that this music will be fit for the atmosphere you are trying to project tomorrow evening." said Double Dee, "May I suggest some selections from my own music collection."

"Relax Sock Head," said Eddy, "I got this covered, you just worry about showing Marie a good time tomorrow night!"

Eddy paused.

"And since it looks like Lumpy here is falling like a ton of bricks for May, I'm gonna be the only single guy there. Boy's tomorrow is my lucky night. I'm gonna find my dream girl. After all, I am the hippest, coolest, good-lookenist guy around!"

After chuckling slightly at Eddy's joke, Double Dee began to wonder who Eddy could have possibly had in mind to hook up with. To Double Dees understanding, only the cul-de-sac kids and the Kankers were invited, and that meant that there would only be four girls available for Eddy to choose from, five if Sarah decided to attend. Two of those girls already were in committed relationships, and a third was already crushing on Ed. That being said, only Sarah and Lee remained as possible candidates for Eddy. Either of these girls were unlikely to be Eddy's "dream girl" due Eddy constantly being at odds with both of them. Double Dee began to suspect that Eddy had something up his sleeve that he hadn't told him about.

"I believe that you are neglecting the fact that there are only a handful of females in this neighborhood for you to attempt your bizarre acts of courtship on Eddy." said Double Dee.

Eddy paused and turned around towards Double Dee grinning.

"Yeah I know," said Eddy, "Don't worry, I took care of it."

Eddy turned around to continue sorting his records, leaving Double Dee confused at his last statement.

"What do you mean you took care of it?" asked Double Dee.

"Ya know, I shot the breeze for ya," said Eddy as he walked over to his friend and put his hand on his shoulder, "I spent all morning spreadin' the word about your hullabaloo around the school and…."

"YOU DID WHAT?" asked Double Dee.

"Hey, we can't have a party with just twelve people." said Eddy, "This is a big event, you got your girl back. And hopefully you will 'become a man' tonight at the party if ya know what I'm sayin"

Eddy playfully hit Double Dee with a flurry of light punches.

"Eddy what could you possibly be thinking!" yelled a panic stricken Double Dee, "I had offered you my house as a venue for your social gathering with the assumption that it would only be for our dear friends from this cul-de-sac. I am quite unprepared to host a gathering of this magnitude in my house and Mother and Father will be furious if something were to turn up broken. And what is to become of me if the brand new hardwood floors become tarnished with scratches? The sanctity of the shelter that was once my home will be obliterated!"

"DOUBLE DEE!" yelled Eddy, "Relax, I'll handle everyone! We'll clean up. By the time it's over, you'll be able to lick those 'hardwood' floors clean with no fear of disease."

"I find that extremely hard to believe after witnessing your work ethic!" said a slightly angry Double Dee.

"Hey I'm a changed man," said Eddy, "Trust me, I won't let ya down again I promise."

Eddy smiled at Double Dee, who returned a smile of his own. Eddy's eccentricities were quite strange and seemed to be thought up with malicious intent. But deep down inside, Double Dee knew that Eddy would not attempt to double cross him again after the words he shared earlier that week.

"Besides, Marie will be there," said Eddy while grinning, "And I'm gonna choose some music to warm her up for ya!"

Eddy laughed at his own joke, which Double Dee couldn't help but join in on.

"Yo Ed," yelled Eddy, "Got any plans for tomorrow night with May?"

Ed blushed at Eddy's statement and looked down towards his feet.

"Oh come on Eddy, you know me and May are just friends." said Ed in his usual dopey voice.

"Right," said Eddy sarcastically, "Come on, I saw the way you looked at her you stud."

Ed paused and looked down blushing again.

"It's true, May makes my tummy feel all wiggly and giggly," said Ed, after which he laughed with his deep dopey laugh.

"OOOOHHHH" yelled Eddy laughing, "Looks like this guy is headed to the loony bin of love too!"

All three boys shared a chuckle.

"So Eddy," said Double Dee, "I take it that true love is something that is unattainable for you?"

"If that means I don't want it, then hell yeah," said Eddy, "I'm just a single guy ready to mingle. And tomorrow night I'm gonna mingle so much that you two wish you were single."

"Bravo Eddy!" said Double Dee, "The only thing that you have managed to convince me with that last sentence is that you are an expert at rhyming."

"That's it!" yelled Eddy as he playfully head locked Double Dee and wrestled him to the floor.

"DOGPILE!" yelled Ed as he joined in on the fun.

As Double Dee had fun with his friends, he couldn't help but wonder what his beautiful girlfriend Marie was up to at the moment. He wanted to see her more than anything and couldn't wait until he could be with her alone for the first time since they reconciled.

Marie had in fact been thinking about Double Dee as well as she stepped out of her trailer, locking the door behind her. Tabby was off tonight, and decided to spend the free time that she had bonding with her daughters. As Marie locked the door, Tabby, Lee and May stood on the ground below, bathing in the yellow hued artificial light from the trailer park fixture. Tabby and Lee were both holding large camping flashlights, as the sun had already gone down, and there was no electricity where they were going.

Marie finished locking the door and turned to face her family.

"Ready?" she said.

"Ready." replied the rest of her family as they began walking away from their 60's era caravan they had called home for the last year and a half.

The Kanker family made their way out of the trailer park and through the construction site in silence, contemplating the journey they were making. They eventually turned onto the cross street and moments later found themselves at the inlet to the cul-de-sac.

"So?" asked Tabby, "Which one of these houses is Edd's?"

"This one right here." said Marie as she pointed to the large blue colonial house in the corner.

"Wow," said Tabby, "He's got a beautiful home. What do his parents do for a living?"

"His dad is an electrical engineer, and his mom is a doctor." said Marie. "His dad's on a trip to Guam right now to work on something for the government, and he won't be back for another week. His mom is probably on call right now. She usually does surgeries in the mornings and visits patients at night."

"That's too bad," said Tabby, "I would have stopped by to meet them if they were home before you went over his house later."

Tabby saw the opportunity to joke with her daughter.

"Caught ya!" said Tabby, "What are you doin' going over his house without anyone home?"

Marie was slightly taken aback at first until she saw a grin adorn her mom's face, as well as her three sister's faces. She joined in on the fun as they continued on their journey down the cross street.

Shortly after they crossed Rathink Avenue, Lee stopped the group in the middle of the sidewalk and glanced at her mother.

"Mom," said Lee, "Are you sure you are ready to do this?"

Tabby glanced at all of her daughters who were waiting for a reply from her. Tabby took a deep breath and gave them their wish.

"I'm sure," said Tabby as she glanced into her daughters eyes smiling.

Lee smiled back at her mother and continued making her way down the street.

Eventually, the family arrived at their destination. In front of them stood a large mansion that seemed as if it had seen better days. The worn exterior siding was beginning to fall off due to neglect in the upkeep of the building. The front yard was bare, although in the summer it always managed to become infested by dandelions and other invasive weed species. The shingles were in a similar state, and there were some portions of the roof that were missing entire rows of shingles. The bottom pane of the right upstairs window was broken allowing the purple drapes to protrude out of it, flowing in the cold breeze. The shudders bordering the large first floor picture window were in state of disrepair. The front door was cracked and in fact was not able to be shut, due to missing its doorknob assembly.

"That siding was once the prettiest sky blue that I had ever seen." said Tabby, breaking the silence. Tabby walked towards the house slowly, "Mother Nature did quite a number on it over the years."

The girls stood in silence behind their mother as she observed her childhood home for the first time in 27 years. Tabby could previously not bring herself to walk past the old house because it reminded her too much of her happy childhood with her family as a little girl.

"Apparently someone else helped her out with the damage to the window and the missing doorknob," said Tabby jokingly, somehow managing a chuckle at her statement.

The girls turned to each other at the mention of the doorknob. May began giggling under her breath uncontrollably as Marie silently gestured for her to stop, even though she herself was attempting to hold back a laugh.

"Shall we go inside?" asked Tabby, "I'll give you girls the grand tour as I remember it."

Tabby began making her way down the decrepit concrete path that led to the front door of her childhood home, with her daughters in tow. The wooden front door was still intact, although the brown paint was peeling off. The three vertical rectangular window panes were smudged with filth, and it was almost impossible to see though them due to years of neglect. Tabby placed her hand on the ajar door and pushed it open. It was no surprise that the foyer was pitch black and Tabby waited for her daughters to enter before she flipped on her flashlight. Lee followed suit and switched hers on as well.

The light from the two flashlights managed to illuminate the foyer quite nicely. Tabby took a moment to shine the light around the foyer before she began speaking.

"Not bad for being vacant for years." said Tabby as she walked toward the wall adjacent to the front door. The bottom of the wall was lined with the same brown 70's style wood paneling that the Kankers trailer was lined with. Above the paneling, the rest of the wall was painted a beautiful ocean blue all the way up to the vaulted two story ceiling.

"I can't believe this paint didn't chip off yet," said Tabby as she touched her hand to the blue wall. Although Tabby appeared to be calm, she was in fact highly emotional seeing her beautiful home in such a lowly state.

Tabby's three daughters watched as she made her way over to the fire place on the other side of the room. Tabby examined the mantle surrounding the fireplace, which was built out of brown bricks. The chimney rose all the way up the ceiling eventually passing through to the roof.

"Poppy put this in when I was 6." said Tabby, "I can remember him and Uncle Jack laying the bricks one by one and watching it grow larger every day. He was really handy and loved projects like this."

Tabby paused.

"It still looks just like I remember it as a little girl." said Tabby.

Tabby walked back out towards the center of the foyer and shined her flashlight directly up, illuminating a large light fixture hanging from the center of the ceiling. The chandelier consisted of four arms, each holding up its own ornamental glass casing.

"If I trusted it, I would light that chandelier so we didn't have to use flashlights." said Tabby as she looked up towards the ceiling.

The girls stood confused.

"But Mom," said Marie, "There's no electricity in here."

Tabby looked at her daughter.

"We don't need it." said Tabby as she walked over to the wall adjacent to the fireplace, "That chandeliers just a big kerosene lamp."

Tabby walked up to a small door on the wall. She opened the compartment to find what appeared to be some kind of winch. Attached to the winch was a cable that appeared to travel out of the compartment up through the wall in the direction of the ceiling.

"I never did this myself, but I remember seeing Poppy do it a few times. It can't hurt to give it a shot. Stand back in case I screw up. I don't want that thing falling on ya!"

The girls stepped out from under the chandelier as Tabby began fiddling with the winch. Eventually she was able to lower the large light fixture to floor level. Inside each of the four glass encasements were series of "nozzles" and "wicks" intended to be lit with a flame. The girls observed the antique fixture as Tabby walked over to examine it.

"I figured," said Tabby, "All of the oil dried up, or else I would have used my cigarette lighter to ignite it. I guess we're not getting any light from this thing tonight."

"How bright was it?" asked May.

"Not too bright," replied Tabby, "We usually used lamps to light this room, and we only used the chandelier on family nights where we'd sit in the dim light and watch the fireplace."

"We never even thought that there was a winch to lower that chandelier to the floor," said Lee, "I always thought it was electric."

"Oh there are a lot of little secrets to this house." said Tabby, "But I'm already sure that you girls found all of the hidden passages and stairways from your time hanging out in here."

The girls giggled with their mother for a few seconds, after which there was a small period of silence. Tabby interjected.

"Annemarie," asked Tabby, "Where did you say Edd found my music box?"

"Oh," said Marie as she began making her way to the small room adjacent to the curved staircase, "In here, it was sitting right here on the vanity."

Tabby made her way into the room that she and her sister had once used as a playroom. She was heartbroken to see the magenta and pink striped wall paper torn in various places, as well as cobwebs growing in the corners. The once mauve carpet was now a dingy grey.

Tabby glanced around the room with her flashlight and eventually laid eyes on something that she hasn't seen in years.

"Stephanie!" yelled Tabby as she walked towards the vanity.

"Stephanie?" asked Lee.

"Yeah Stephanie," said Tabby as she reached towards the vanity and grabbed an old school stuffed rag doll. The doll had rosy red cheeks and blonde stringy hair.

"Me and Aunt Kate took Stephanie everywhere." said Tabby, "We used to beg Poppy to get us food for her when we stopped at drive thrus and he would sometimes actually get a small order of chicken nuggets for us to pretend. Of course, she wouldn't eat them, but Poppy surely would when we weren't looking."

Tabby chuckled with her daughters.

"We could never figure out what happened to her." said Tabby as she examined her doll.

"Well at least now you know she's safe." said Marie as she smiled.

Lee walked over to her mother and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Take her with you," said Lee, "She's yours."

"Yeah, I bet she really missed you too!" said May.

The girls shared a laugh with Tabby

"We hardly ever come in this room," said Marie, "If we knew that all of this stuff that was special to you was in here we would have brought it home a lot sooner."

Tabby smiled into Marie's eyes.

"You don't know how glad I am to see this stuff again girls." said Tabby with watery eyes.

Tabby began walking out of the playroom with Stephanie cradled in her arms. She turned and began ascending the curved staircase.

"Let's see how the upstairs fared over the years." said Tabby as she led her daughters upstairs.

When the group reached the upstairs balcony, Tabby began leading them down the hallway towards her old bedroom. She calmly opened the door to the small room, and was amazed that the wall paper had not peeled away from moisture build up.

"Well, at least my room held up!" said Tabby cheerfully, "Let's go check on Aunt Kate's."

Tabby led her girls out of the room and made a left turn at the door, leading the girls through an archway at the left end of the balcony. She stopped at a wooden door to her left and opened it. The girls observed their aunts bedroom, which was lined with the same pink wall paper as their mothers was. The rooms were strikingly similar to each other, apart from Kate's room being slightly smaller than Tabby's.

"Alright, now time for Mom Mom and Poppys room." said Tabby as she turned around walked out of her sister's room. Tabby led her girls to a set of wooden double doors. Tabby grabbed the rusty golden handle of the left door, which once glistened brightly, and began to turn it slowly.

Tabby was quite nervous entering her father's bedroom. She and her father had been really close, and she missed him dearly. She was already battling intense emotions by merely being in her old house, but even more so now that she was to enter the room where her father once slept every night.

Tabby opened the door and shined her flashlight into the relatively large room. The walls were covered with green wallpaper which somehow managed to stay intact much like Tabby's room. The once bright blue carpets had lost their luster, although they still retained their blue hue. The room was bare of any kind of furniture, the only highlight being a large walk in closet in the corner of the room.

"You girls ever been in here?" asked Tabby.

"Once last summer," replied Lee. Poppy's bedroom played in integral role in getting the Ed's down to the basement in their barrels, and was the first room they passed through on their ride down to their surprise wedding.

"We usually hang out in your room, the foyer, the library or that big room in the basement." said Marie.

"Don't forget about the balcony." said May.

As the girls continued talking amongst themselves, an emotional Tabby made her way to the closet in the corner of the room. She grabbed the handle on the door and opened it. From years of inactivity, the door was quite difficult to open and emitted a loud creaking sound as Tabby pulled on the handle. The girls took notice that their mother had entered the closet, and followed her in to do a little exploring themselves.

The rails of the closet were completely bare, as was the closet floor. However as Tabby shined her flashlight around, she took notice of a few boxes stacked up on the shelf above the rails. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that the boxes contained board games.

"Alright," said Tabby enthusiastically as she reached her arms up in an attempt to grab the games, "All of these are still here. Trivial Pursuit, Mouse Trap, Hungry Hungry Hippos."

Tabby paused.

"We can take these back to the trailer and finally have something to do besides watch TV all of the time," said Tabby, "Although all of them are kids games, except Trivial Pursuit."

"No matter," said Marie, "We could always use something to do."

"Let's get em'" said Lee as she reached up to assist her mother in removing the games from the shelf. As much as they tried, they couldn't jar any of the boxes loose.

"They're stuck for some reason," said Lee as she continued to pull.

Eventually, the entire stack of games tumbled down due to the force that was being applied to it by both Lee and Tabby. With a quick glance of the flashlight, they were assured that none of the games had opened as it would not be fun to have to attempt to find small game pieces in the dark.

"Good thing these didn't open." said May as she picked a box up off of the floor.

It was then that the girls noticed that Tabby had her flashlight pointed at a small black box that appeared extremely similar to a shoe box. The box had been hidden on top of all of the board games and had fallen at the same time as the other boxes. As Tabby examined the box, she noticed gold lettering on the lid in the cursive style. The letters formed the words:

**London Sole**

Tabby sat down on the closet floor "Indian style" not saying a word as she placed the black shoe box on her lap. The girls joined her sitting down on the floor as Lee used her flashlight to illuminate the box.

Tabby began to remove the lid of the box and was surprised with what she found inside. There was a letter, written on fancy paper addressed to her. She began to slowly read the handwriting on the paper.

_Tabitha Jane,_

_We are so proud of you and the beautiful young woman you are becoming. It seems like only yesterday that we looked down into your little blue eyes for the first time, and now we are celebrating your 10__th__ birthday. You have grown into a beautiful, smart dignified young lady. I think you deserve something special this year for all of those straight A's you had through grade school. Get used to wearing these, because you're going to be wearing them every Thursday night from now on. We can't wait to see you up on stage during your first recital, you're going to be the most beautiful ballerina in the world!_

_We love you Tabitha, thank you so much for always making us proud,_

_HAPPY TENTH BIRTHDAY!_

_Love,_

_Mommy and Daddy_

Tabby had finished reading the letter and placed it down on the floor next to the box. The three Kanker girls watched as their mothers lower lips began trembling, she was trying as hard as she could to hold back tears. Tabby reached into the box and began unfolding the tissue paper that covered up the contents.

Tabby's eyes could no longer hold back her tears when she finally laid eyes on what was inside the box. Sitting in the box were a pair of bright red, brand new pirouette ballet flats with black bows. The shoes still maintain their shiny luster from being carefully stored.

Poppy was going to surprise Tabby with the shoes and the news that she was going to be taking ballet lessons on her tenth birthday. He had received the shoes in the mail earlier than expected and decided to hide them in his closet to keep little Tabby from finding them. Unfortunately, right before Tabby's 10th birthday, Poppy lost his land, and was no longer going to be able to afford his daughters ballet lessons. It would have torn his heart in two to give his daughter the shoes without living up to his promise to provide her with lessons. Thus, the box was shoved out of sight and out of mind, and forgotten during the move

Tabby's eyes began filling with tears as she stared down at the shoes, she placed her hand over her mouth as a flood of tears suddenly burst from her eyes.

"Mom?" asked Lee, "Are you okay?"

Tabby buried her face in her hands, drenching herself in her own tears at the sight of her father's handwriting as well as his heartfelt surprise he had in store for her that she never received. Lee, Marie and May quickly rose and sat down next to their mother, embracing her tightly. The girls managed to share heartfelt tears of their own upon viewing their mothers anguish. The Kanker sisters would spend the next few minutes in the dark closet of their grandfather's bedroom comforting their mother through her emotional breakdown.


	54. Chapter 54

**Chapter 54**

It had been around five minutes since Tabby had discovered the shoes that were meant to be her tenth birthday present, as well as the special letter to her from her parents. Her three daughters sat around her, with all four women forming a semicircle around the open box. Tabby had managed to calm down, although she was still feeling quite emotional. Her three daughters couldn't bear to see their mother as upset as she was, and could not think of anything else to do besides comfort her. Eventually Tabby broke the silence.

"I failed them," said Tabby rather quietly.

The girls glanced at each other under the glow from the flashlight confused.

"What do you mean Mom?" asked Marie.

Profuse tears began running down Tabby's face once again. She could barely get her next words out of her mouth.

"I failed them as a daughter," said Tabby, "Read that letter. They loved me, they wanted to see me grow up and live out my dreams. They did so much to raise me and Aunt Kate with great love and care, and I took all of that love and wasted it by accomplishing nothing with my life."

The girls sat in silence after Tabby's statement. They could tell that their mother was extremely disappointed in herself. Not being able to live out her dream as a ballerina was not her prime reason for being so upset. In Tabby's mind, she had let her friendly, loving, caring father down. Seeing his handwriting expressing powerful words of joy and love managed to finally break the wall of emotions that she had inside. Tabby was extremely close to her father, and longed to be able to tell him that she loved him again, and to tell him she was sorry for letting him down.

Lee's intuition managed to pick up on the reason for Tabby's emotions, and she decided to help reassure her mother that everything was going to be alright.

"We miss him too Mom," said Lee as she placed her hand on her mother's shoulder.

"We loved him," said Marie, "He was always so nice and cheerful."

"He was the funnest guy around," said May.

Lee shined the flashlight up towards the ceiling in a attempt to illuminate the room as much as possible. She glanced into her mother's red puffy eyes as she spoke.

"Mom, you have made mistakes in your life," said Lee, "But even though you did, you were a strong enough woman to push through those mistakes and keep carrying on. When you found yourself with two babies as a single mother at 22 years old, you made sure to quit partying and do everything you could to put food in our mouths. You took responsibility and did the best damn job you could as a mother given what you have been through. Even after you lost the man of your dreams, you still made sure that we came first through everything, including your own emotions. You gave up so much of your free time with work to make sure we ate every night and had clothes to put on our backs."

Lee smiled into her mother's face. Tabby continued to stare at her oldest daughter as she spoke her heartfelt words.

"I am sure that that would give Poppy something to be proud of." said Lee.

Marie and May glanced at each other surprised, as they had never heard their domineering sister speak with such elegance. Lee's words were truly heartfelt, and managed to begin healing Tabby's emotional wounds. Tabby looked into her red headed daughters blue eyes and quickly glanced around at her other two children. All of them were sitting there, comforting her during her time of need; Tabby regretted not being there emotionally for them when they had needed guidance growing up.

"You know what," said Tabby, "I'm a fool to think that I didn't accomplish anything with my life."

Tabby adjusted her sitting position and continued speaking.

"Even though I didn't plan things to turn out this way, the events in my life have left me with a family of my own. I have been blessed with three beautiful daughters with so much talent and potential."

Tabby glanced down towards the floor.

"I just wish I didn't have to put you through what I had to go through when I grew up with the city and the school," said Tabby, "I wish I could go back and spend more time with you, get to know you, and help you out with the problems you had growing up."

Tabby's eyes begin to release tears slowly once again, at which point all three of her daughters placed their hands on her back.

"We can't change the past," said Marie rather softly, "But that doesn't mean that we can't look towards a better future together."

Tabby looked into her daughters eyes and smiled. She pulled all three of her girls into a tight embrace, at which point everyone began crying tears of their own.

"I love you girls with all my heart!" said Tabby as she hugged her daughters, sharing love that had been kept long bottled up inside her.

Eventually, the group regained their composure and began making small jokes about the state of the house. May's curiosity eventually got the best of her and forced her to ask an extremely touchy question.

"Hey Mom," asked May, "What did Lee mean when she said you lost the man of your dreams?"

Tabby, as well as Marie and Lee froze at May's statement. Tabby took a deep breath; she knew what she had to do.

"Annamae," said Tabby, "It's about time I told you the story of how you were born."

Tabby spent the next ten minutes explaining to May the story of her birth, her romantic relationship with Rod, and her big blow out that cost her his love. May was absolutely speechless upon hearing the story.

"So you and Daddy were actually in love?" asked May.

"Yes we were," said Tabby, "And I won't lie to you, I still have feelings for him. It's hard losing someone you really care about, although I am happy for him that he has finally found love for himself with Linda."

Tabby sighed as her daughters glanced at each other. The girls silently debated who would be one to break the news of Rod and Linda's breakup to their mother. Ultimately, they decided that Marie would be the one to do the deed.

"Mom," said Marie, "Daddy and Linda aren't together anymore."

Tabby perked up at the last statement and looked into Maries eyes.

"What?" asked a surprised Tabby.

"When Daddy took me to the dentist, he told me that he caught her in bed with some other guy when he came from work on Wednesday night." said May.

"Oh my god…" said Tabby as she placed her hand over her mouth, "He must have been crushed."

"He was," said Lee, "When me and Marie saw him, he looked like he hadn't slept in days. His eyes were all bloodshot and his face was white, he looked like a nervous wreck."

The group remained in silence for a few seconds after which Tabby began speaking.

"I really thought they were close," said Tabby, "I guess she just put on the show to convince us that she was in love with him."

There was a pause, after which Tabby began closing up the shoe box. She picked up the box as she stood up off of the floor.

"These definitely won't fit me now," said Tabby as she chuckled, "But I'm gonna take them with me anyway. Judging by the last two generations of Kankers being all girls, I am bound to be blessed with a granddaughter someday."

Tabby smiled at her daughters, as they smiled back at their mother.

"And I want her to have these shoes," said Tabby.

The girls smiled out of joy at their mother who began making her way out of the closet holding the black shoe box.

"Don't forget Stephanie!" yelled May as she reached down and picked the doll up off of the floor before following her mother and her sisters out of the room.

"Let's explore the rest of the house shall we?" asked Tabby with a rather enthusiastic voice.

Tabby led her girls back out into the hallway and traveled down the balcony in the opposite direction of which they came.

"Anybody need to use the girls room?" asked Tabby jokingly as she opened the door to the bathroom.

The bathroom had seen much better days. The small window faced the back of the house, and was shattered just as the window of the upstairs library was. Three of the walls were covered with magenta wall paper, while the wall bordering the shower was covered with tiles of a darker shade of red. The wall paper was peeling in some places, but was otherwise undamaged. The tiles however had become discolored over the years, and the grout between them had begun to rot away, causing some of the tiles to fall off. There was a vanity mirror on the left wall that had surely seen better days; it's once shiny reflective surface was now tarnished and it was impossible to make out any kind of reflection. The pedestal sink below it was made of porcelain, which had turned yellow over the years.

The most striking feature of the bathroom was the toilet. Unlike modern toilets, the cistern of the Kankers toilet was mounted on the wall near the ceiling. A copper pipe descended from the bottom of the tank and attached itself to the top of the bowl. A chain with a handle dangled from one side of the cistern, and descended to a height of around 5 feet.

"It's funny," said Tabby as she walked over to the toilet, "When I was little, I couldn't pull this handle. It was way too high for me to reach from the floor, so I had to shut the lid and stand on top of it just to flush the toilet."

The girls chuckled. After a few seconds Tabby broke the silence with a joke.

"Alright, enough of me reminiscing over a damn toilet, let's check out the balcony. I need a cig break anyway."

The girls laughed at Tabby's joke as she led them up the stairs to the balcony that Double Dee had consoled Marie on the night after her fight with Lee. The girls took their seats up against the wall of the house as Tabby lit a cigarette and walked toward the end of the balcony. She spent a few minutes puffing her cigarette and observing her surroundings before she turned her attention to the starry sky.

"Looks like the view of the night sky is just as good as it was 27 years ago!" said an excited Tabby as she walked over to the street light and glanced into the glass casing. She took notice that there was a bulb in the fixture, but was loosened to the point that no electricity could pass through it.

"Looks like you girls figured out me and Aunt Kate's little trick to see the stars." said Tabby as she smiled at her daughters.

The girls glanced at each other in surprise.

"We used to do it all the time until we finally got caught by Poppy." Tabby smiled, "He scolded me and made me sit on the chair in the foyer for a few hours. I was soooooo mad, I was saying how much I hated him in my mind and wondered what the big deal was about what I did."

Tabby glanced over the railing of the balcony.

"The big deal is that street light is far away from the balcony, and you have to lean out over a 15 foot drop in order to loosen the bulb. It pretty dangerous for a kid, and now looking back on it as a mother myself I wouldn't want my little girl putting herself in that kind of danger."

"It's amazing how your view of the world changes when you're on the other side of the spectrum." said Lee as she and her sisters shared a laugh with Tabby.

The group conversed for a few more minutes, after which Tabby finished her cigarette and put it out on the concrete ground of the balcony. She led the girls back into her house and they soon found themselves back on the second floor balcony.

"Alright," said Tabby, "I want to take you girls down to the basement, but first I want to check on Poppy's library. Are there still books up there?"

"Yes," said Marie, "A ton almost all of the shelves are filled."

"Really?" said Tabby, "Let's have a look see."

Tabby reached toward the ceiling and grabbed a small chain dangling from a hatch on the ceiling. With a pull of the chain, the hatch opened downward revealing a folded ladder. Tabby grabbed the ladder and unfolded it until the two rails touched the hardwood floor.

"Go ahead girls," said Tabby as she motioned her daughters to climb the ladder, "I don't even know if my old ass can still do this."

The girls chuckled at Tabby's statement as they climbed up the ladder one by one, after which Tabby slowly but surely made her way up into the library.

"You weren't kidding," said Tabby as she shined her flashlight around the room, "They're all still here."

Tabby shined her light around the room observing her surroundings. The library walls consisted of the same décor as the foyer, brown wood paneling and ocean blue walls. Large book shelves took up all wall space in the room except for a small section near the landing of a metallic spiral staircase. In the middle of the room sat a small stool that was only large enough for a small child, as well as a small round table. There was a large window facing the front of the house that had been shattered at some point, and the purple drapes that lined the sash perpetually fluttered in the breeze. Underneath the window was a leather arm chair that had been covered up with a white sheet. Lastly, the rolling ladder that had once been used to retrieve high books was positioned directly above the hatch leading up from the second floor balcony. It was exactly where Double Dee had left it from the previous summer.

That was not all that Double Dee had left out of place. Tabby shined her flashlight towards the spiral staircase in the far corner of the room and noticed that there were a pile of books randomly sitting on the floor. The books in question were those that Marie had planted to lead Double Dee up to the library.

"Doing some reading?" asked Tabby as she pointed towards the books.

Marie had no idea what to say, as she didn't want to reveal to her mom that she had previously tortured the Ed's.

"Poppy used to read to me all the time." said Tabby, "He would bring me and Aunt Kate up here and read Dr. Seuss to us when we were little. He loved to read about anything, whether it be sports, science, music or just to enjoy a good story. He really stressed reading to us and managed to teach us how to read even before we started school. I can't even remember not knowing how to read."

Tabby paused as she walked over to one of the bookshelf and glazed her hand over a row of dusty books.

"It's a shame to see his collection like this." said Tabby, "I guess he didn't have enough time to pack them all up. I would really like to take them home to preserve them, but where are we gonna keep all of them in that dinky trailer."

Tabby and the girls paged through a few of the books and shared conversations while returning Marie's decoy books to their proper locations on the shelf. After they had finished, Tabby had decided that it was finally time for them to head to the basement.

"Alright girls," said Tabby, "There are three ways we can get down to the family room. I'm sure you know what they are. We can either take that spiral stair case, the stairs down in the foyer, or the secret slide. Your call."

The three Kanker sisters glanced at each other before responding simultaneously.

"SECRET SLIDE!" yelled the girls.

"I thought so," said Tabby as she began climbing down the ladder to the second floor balcony. The girls followed her down, and began walking down the hall towards Kate's room.

Poppy's father had had a "secret slide" built into the house as a small fun filled touch for his children. The Kanker sisters had taken advantage of the opportunities the slide had to offer the previous summer. After capturing the Ed's in barrels, they trollied them through the wooden double doors of Poppy's room. After passing through the dark room, the Ed's traveled through the walk-in-closet which connected Poppy's room to Kate's. The girls had decorated Kate's room with light up hearts and other lovely accessories for the Eds to view as they passed through. In addition to the decorations, they had also treated the Ed's to quick satirical views of the future lives they would have with their Kanker brides in the form of puppets. After viewing their doppelgangers, the Ed's careened down the "secret slide" and found themselves face to face with their brides to be in the family room.

Tabby once again opened the door to Kate's room and shined her flashlight around attempting to find her way to the hatch in the floor that led to the slide. As she shined her flashlight around, she took notice that the door to the walk in closet was surrounded by a large heart shaped cut-out that had appeared to have been taped to the wall. It was apparently ripped when the door behind had been forced open. The girls had inadvertently forgotten to take it down.

"What is this?" asked Tabby curiously.

She turned around and shined the flashlight at her girls to see their faces. All three girls were blushing slightly and had nothing to say.

"I won't even ask." said Tabby as she smiled and shook her head

Tabby walked over to the hatch leading to the slide and opened it.

"Who's going first," asked Tabby.

"Me!" yelled May as she ran over to the hatch and sat down on the mauve carpet. She pushed herself onto the smooth wooden surface and readied herself for her ride. With another quick push, May was on her way down to the family room.

Lee and Marie followed May lead and eventually found themselves passing through another pair of swinging doors at the bottom of the slide. Moments later, Tabby herself came careening through the doors, screaming her lungs out as she flipped over as she passed through the doors. She was not the little girl she used to be and neglected to make adjustments to her slide technique for her increased body mass.

"At least my big ass acted as a brake!" yelled Tabby jokingly which caused all three of her girls to begin laughing wholeheartedly.

"Alright, alright enough about my assets," said Tabby jokingly as she picked up her flashlight, "Let's see what's down here."

As Tabby shined her flashlight around the room, the girls realized the unthinkable. The various chairs they had picked up from the junkyard to act as pews for their mock wedding were still arranged in the style of a church, and the dresser that Lee had used to deliver the marriage ceremony was still in its place, covered with dandelions. The runner that was supposed to adorn the curved staircase in the foyer was currently serving as the "church's" center aisle runner. In addition, the barrels that the sisters had used to bring the Ed's down to the basement were sitting stacked within one another in the corner of the room.

"What the hell have you girls been doing in here?" asked Tabby jokingly.

The girls knew that they would have to explain the reason for the room being filled with junk, as well as the stolen runner. It was time that they told their mother a story of their own; the story of how they met their beloved Eds and the "adventures" they shared with them. They decided to end with the story of their "marriage"

All four women giggled at the story after which Tabby broke the silence.

"Ed, Edd, n' Eddy," said Tabby to herself, "That has a certain ring to it. It sounds like the name of some ridiculous slap stick cartoon!"

Tabby began giggling, as did her daughters.

"But seriously, what are the odds that three best friends all have the same name. And if their names are all Edward, how do they not get confused of who's talking to who?" asked Tabby.

"Well, Big Ed, the tall guy that always wears the green jacket just always goes by Ed." said Marie, "The short little guy goes by Eddy. My Edd spells his name with two D's to differentiate himself from his friends. That earned him his nickname Double Dee."

"Double Dee huh?" said Tabby as she smiled, "I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I see him."

The girls sat in silence for a few seconds after which Tabby walked over towards the barrels.

"I'm glad to see that you found these," said Tabby, "Where were they?"

"In the washroom with all of the mirrors," replied Lee.

"Really?" asked Tabby, "We bought these for a block party one year at Uncle Jacks house. I can't really remember what exactly they were for, but it was some kind of ring toss game. The paintings on the barrels were jokes towards Poppy, Uncle Jack and Uncle Steve. The body builder was for Poppy, because he lifted weights and constantly joked about his muscles, the sailor was for Uncle Jack who was in the Navy, and the tuxedo was for Uncle Steve, who always seemed to wear a three piece suit wherever he went."

Tabby paused.

"There was also a ballerina one for me, and a few other "girlie ones" but I don't know what happened to them." said Tabby.

Tabby reached into the barrels and pulled out what appeared to be a maroon shower curtain with the rings still attached to it.

"What is this doing in here?" asked Tabby

Marie blushed as Lee and May laughed jokingly.

"That was Marie's wedding dress!" yelled Lee as she laughed.

"The bathroom shower curtain?" asked Tabby in a confused tone.

"What was I gonna use?" replied Marie jokingly, "Lee and May already took the only dresses we had at the trailer back then."

The laughter had eventually died down after which Tabby decided to pose a question.

"So what are you girls doing tomorrow night?" asked Tabby.

Tabby was asking the question with the intent that she would spend time bonding with her daughter's tomorrow night as well. Although the girls felt bad about doing so, they told her the truth.

"Well, Double Dee's having this party at his house for all of his friends, and we were invited." said Marie.

"Really?" said Tabby, as her eyes widened, "That's great!"

"But Mom, if you want us to spend more time with you w…."

May was cut off by Tabby.

"Go," said Tabby, "Make friends, mingle and be happy. I'm glad that you are finally stepping out and trusting others again."

The girls smiled at their mother after which Lee chimed in.

"Wait till ya hear this one Mom," said Lee, "Marie isn't the only one with a man. May can't stop swoonin over her "Big Ed" herself. She won't shut up about his "handsome face" and h….."

"LEE!" yelled an extremely embarrassed May in a long drawn out tone, after which Lee laughed manically and the girls began to playfully bicker. Tabby couldn't help but giggle at the fact that her daughters were already old enough to begin arguing over boys.

"Alright break it up!" yelled Tabby as she silenced the girls.

"Sounds like tomorrows gonna be an important night for you girls." said Tabby, "And because it's so important, I'm gonna take you to Brandy tomorrow night before the party to get your hair and nails done. How does that sound."

All three girls were quite excited on the inside at the prospect of doing something "girlie" for once. All three sisters had longed to be pampered and feel beautiful, including the rough Lee Kanker. In addition, the girls would not only be bonding further as sisters. They would also be spending time with the mother as well.

All three girls rushed Tabby and hugged her.

"Thanks mom." said all three girls simultaneously.

"You're welcome girls." said Tabby as she hugged her girls back, "Alright, I think it's time we headed home. Besides it's been a few hours, and it's probably about the time that Annemarie promised to be at Double Dees."

Tabby led her girls through the washroom and up the creaky wooden stairs to the foyer, from which they exited the house. The girls and their mother proceeded down the cross street to their trailer with May carrying "Stephanie" in her arms and Tabby holding the shoe box with her shoes and Poppy's note in it. Lee was currently carrying the various 80's games they had found in Poppy's closet.

The group eventually reached the cross street and stopped to bid Marie farewell.

"Alright Annemarie, I'll see you later," said Tabby.

"Have fun!" yelled Lee, "But not too much!"

Tabby playfully slapped Lee on the shoulder for teasing her sister after which she waved goodbye and began making her way to the trailer park with her remaining daughters. Marie turned into the cul-de-sac and began walking up the stone path to Double Dee's house. Although she had done this many times before, she was quite nervous, as this was the first time they would be alone after their reconciliation. Nevertheless, she was extremely excited as she walked up to the door. After a quick adjustment of her hair, and a check on her make up using her pocket mirror, she rang the doorbell. She was now moments away from looking into her loves blue eyes once again.


	55. Chapter 55

**Chapter 55**

It was a beautiful Friday night in Peach Creek, and around the same time that Marie had entered her grandfather's house with her family, Double Dee had departed Eddy's house to prepare for Marie's arrival. The boys had deemed a few pieces of music from Eddy's collection appropriate for the party, and decided to use Double Dees itunes library to balance out Eddy's old school hits.

Double Dee had finished his shower, and he was already prepared for Marie's visit. He was wearing a red button down shirt, as well as a pair of dark blue jeans. Double Dee adjusted his collar in the mirror, after which he smiled at his reflection. He was smiling from ear to ear, excited to see his girlfriend alone for the first time since they had reconciled.

Marie had arrived sooner than Double Dee had expected, as it was around 7:45 when the sound of Double Dee's doorbell began resonating throughout his house. Double Dee quickly adjusted his ski hat and brushed some lint off of his shirt before running out of his room and down the stairs to the front door.

Double Dee reached the front door and grabbed the golden doorknob. He was currently experiencing a feeling that Ed would describe as "being wiggly inside." Even though the feeling in question resembled a feeling of uneasiness, Double Dee enjoyed it. With a deep breath, he began opening the door to his house.

The door creaked open, revealing Marie standing on Double Dees front stoop. Double Dee felt a wave of warmth pass through his cheeks as his eyes soaked in Marie's beauty. She was still wearing her same v-neck tank top as earlier, although it happened to be covered with a grey hooded sweat shirt due to the brisk weather. Her jeans were the same exact color as Double Dees, although they were more form fitting, showing off her curvaceous hips. Her red slip on flats matched her tank top impeccably. Her black hair was adorned with her red headband, and her layered bangs retained their position over her right eye.

Double Dee stared into Maries green eyes smiling wholeheartedly. She was beautiful, and he was at a loss for words. The same was true for Marie, who stood in the doorway staring into Double Dees blue eyes. She had missed his eyes for the last few days, and she couldn't help but notice how especially handsome her Double Dee looked tonight.

"Hello Marie," said Double Dee breaking the silence.

"Hi Double Dee," said Marie as she smiled and blushed slightly.

Double Dee moved to the side of the doorway and motioned for Marie to enter his house with his arms.

"Please, come in my lady," said Double Dee as he smiled.

Marie walked into Double Dees house, smiling as she passed her boyfriend and stood by his living room couch. Double Dee shut the door to his house, and turned around to face Marie, who was in the process of removing her grey sweatshirt. She pulled the sweatshirt over her head, revealing her slim fit red tank top. Once again, Double Dee's teenage instincts led his eyes to her bare midsection, which was exposed for second or two due to her tight fitting shirt riding up as she stretched to remove her sweater.

Marie placed her sweatshirt neatly on the sofa, and turned towards her boyfriend, smiling as she adjusted her hair.

"So," said Marie playfully, "Did ya miss me?"

Double Dees eyes managed to roam just as they had before to Marie's exposed cleavage, as well as her slightly exposed midsection between her shirt and jeans. Marie took notice that Double Dee was checking her out. She giggled and walked over towards her boyfriend smiling. Double Dee blushed as he realized that his hormonal instincts were once again getting in the way of his polite demeanor. He quickly shook off his impulses and looked into his girlfriends green eyes.

"You can't even comprehend how much I missed seeing your beautiful smile Marie," said Double Dee as he ran his hand through Marie's hair. Marie smiled, after which she quickly pressed her lips to his, kissing him gently yet passionately. As Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck, locking her fingers on the other side, Double Dee placed his hand on her hips and pulled her closer towards him. Marie eventually pulled away from Double Dee and placed her head on his shoulder, after which she whispered into his ear.

"I love you Double Dee," whispered Marie.

"I love you too Marie," said Double Dee as he turned his head, and pecked Marie's forehead with his lips.

Marie stared into Double Dees eyes once again before returning to the sofa.

"Come sit with me cutie!" said Marie as she patted the seat cushion next to her.

"Certainly," said Double Dee, "But first, I will retrieve us some refreshments from the kitchen."

Double Dee hurried himself to the kitchen doorway to grab drinks for he and Marie. He turned around just as he was about to turn the corner into the kitchen and once again locked eyes with Marie. She was sitting on his couch leaning back with her legs crossed, twirling her hair with her right hand as she grinned. Double Dee couldn't help but smile back, after which he walked to his refrigerator. By now he had known that Marie had enjoyed her soda, and he had stocked a fridge pack of _Vanilla Coke _he had found stored in his garage in anticipation of her arrival.

Double Dee traveled back out to the living room and handed Marie her beverage. Marie opened the can and took a sip as Double Dee retook his place next to her on the couch. After placing her drink on the coffee table, Marie rested her head on Double Dee's shoulder, prompting him to place his right arm around her and pull her closer. Double Dee noticed that she was wearing Crankshaft #5, a scent which he had dearly missed during their hard times.

"I've really missed your hugs Double Dee," said Marie.

"As did I," said Double Dee, "I am so glad that things managed to work out between us. I had thought for sure that I had lost you and that you were never going to speak to me again!"

"Me too," said Marie, "I can't believe my stupid stubborn attitude almost cost me the greatest guy in the world."

Marie kissed Double Dee on the cheek and returned her head to his shoulder.

"So what exactly made you come around and become willing to reconcile?" asked Double Dee.

"Well," said Marie, "It's a long story."

Marie spent a few minutes telling Double Dee the entire story of how Lee and May tried to wits end to convince her that Double Dee was a good guy, only for her to completely ignore their words. She told him of her mother's heartfelt conversation with her, which left Double Dee shocked beyond belief.

"Marie," said Double Dee, "My word, I'm speechless."

"I was surprised by the whole thing too," said Marie, "I had thought that my Dad was just another one of my Moms men that she fooled around with who somehow had enough sense to take responsibility for his actions when he produced May. I couldn't believe that they were actually in love."

The couple remained silent for a few seconds.

"It all makes sense though if you think about it," said Marie, "My mom made up that story that he cheated with a prostitute to cover up her own emotional problems, and to attempt to convince herself that she did the right thing by leaving him. He never did anything like that when he was with Linda for all of those years and he seemed like too nice of a guy to do something like that. I feel terrible for my mother. She still has feelings for him, and she wanted to take everything she did to him back more than anything. I could tell that those tears in her eyes were completely genuine."

Marie looked up into her boyfriends eyes.

"Her words have helped me realize the mistake I was making. If I kept ignoring you and acting stubborn, I would have lost you just as my mother has lost my Dad."

Marie paused before she began speaking once again.

"I wish that we could somehow convince him to give her another chance," said Marie.

"But Marie," said Double Dee, "What about Linda?"

"Oh," said Marie, "I forgot to tell you."

Marie turned around and looked Double Dee in the eyes.

"My Dad and Linda aren't together anymore," said Marie.

"What?" asked Double Dee, "What happened? They seemed as if they were in a close relationship judging by their actions at the ice rink."

"I know," said Marie, "But behind closed doors, their relationship wasn't going so hot. May said that my Dad told her on the way to the dentist that there was so much fighting going on and things just weren't the same as they first met."

Marie paused.

"That being said, she decided to cheat on him with another man. He caught her in the act on Wednesday night." said Marie.

"My goodness!" said Double Dee, "That must have been heartbreaking, I can only imagine the emotional turmoil and anguish that your father must have faced when he made that discovery."

"He is distraught," said Marie, "When he dropped May off earlier, he looked as if he had seen a ghost, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked terrible Double Dee."

"Did he have any idea of who the man was?" asked Double Dee.

"No," said Marie, "But he was an asshole. He tried to push my Dad around and make fun of him for a little bit after my Dad caught him and Linda in bed."

Marie grinned at Double Dee.

"That is, until my Dad used his martial arts training from the Marines. He ran like a sissy!" said Marie as she giggled.

"As you know, I usually detest violence," said Double Dee, "But I must admit that the beauty, grace and discipline characteristic of the martial arts in unmatched, and I very much enjoy that fact that it used as a means of self defense, rather than for brutal assault."

Marie grinned at her boyfriend slyly.

"You like martial arts Oven Mitt?" asked Marie.

Double Dee remained in silence, staring at his girlfriends as he smiled.

"My dad taught us a bunch of the moves and defense strategies that he learned in training," said Marie as she smiled.

"Really?" asked a curious Double Dee.

"Yes," said Marie as she wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck playfully. "The techniques he taught us really came in handy for beating you Ed's into submission whenever we needed a kiss."

Marie giggled as Double Dee cracked a smile with her. It all became very clear at this point. The Ed's were perfectly capable of escaping the Kanker's grasp as they were all physically stronger than them being males. However, due to the fact that all three Ed's, including Eddy, respected girls enough not to hit them, as well as the sisters knowledge of painful submission holds, the Ed's managed to be on the losing end of physical confrontations every time.

Double Dee had been so in tune to his thoughts that he had barely noticed that Marie had walked over to the bottom of the stairs.

"Let's go upstairs Oven Mitt!" said Marie enthusiastically, "It's time for your session of MCMAP training, and I don't want to break anything down here."

Double Dee knew he was in for quite a ride as he got up off of the couch and smiled at Marie, who playfully bowed towards him, as she placed her hands in prayers stance.

"I'll shall teach you all that I know young grasshopper." said Marie playfully as she did so, after which she giggled and began running upstairs. Double Dee sighed, after which he smiled and ran up the red carpeted stairs to join her.

Double Dee opened his door to find Marie standing in the middle of his room waiting for him, with a smile on her face.

"Okay Oven Mitt," said Marie, "Our first lesson is going to be on my favorite family of moves….take downs!"

"Take downs?" asked Double Dee, "May I request that we begin with something a little less rough?"

"Relax cutie," said Marie, "It's gonna be fun."

Marie kicked off her slip on red shoes, and was now standing in bare feet on Double Dee's carpet.

"Besides, there are much worse things than take down that my Dad refused to teach us," said Marie as she smiled.

"And what may those be?" asked a curious Double Dee.

"Hmm, just a few techniques to instantly kill someone with your bare hands." said Marie as she grinned.

Double Dee froze in horror at Maries statement. Marie took notice of his nervousness and giggled.

"Relax Double Dee," said Marie, "I never even learned them and why would I use them on the man I love?"

"Silly me," said Double Dee as he blushed rather nervously as Marie chuckled.

"Come on, it's time for your first lesson." said Marie

Marie pulled Double Dee out into the middle of his room so that they could have space to perform their maneuvers.

"Alright," said Marie, "I'll demonstrate on you first, and then you can try it on me okay?"

Double Dee appeared nervous.

"Don't worry, I won't be too rough when I show you," said Marie. "I forget what exactly this is called, but it's one of my favorites. I use it on May all the time when we wrestle."

Marie positioned herself in front of Double Dee.

"Pretend like you are going to punch me in the face." said Marie.

Double Dee reluctantly raised his fist into the air and held it up near his head for a few seconds.

"Are you sure Marie?" asked Double Dee.

Marie nodded her head as she smiled. After a sigh, Double Dee reluctantly began moving his fist towards Marie's face.

Double Dee was surprised as Marie used her left arm to force his fist downward, while moving her body to the left to dodge his lunge. Her right arm ascended, and she placed her inner elbow on Double Dee's Adam's apple, a maneuver which would commonly be called a clothesline. As she pushed with her elbow, her right foot managed to travel behind Double Dee and sweep his feet out from under him. In a matter of milliseconds, Double Dee was on his way towards the floor. He was sure that he was to hit his red carpet when he felt Marie grab his body and stop him right before he hit the floor. She laid him down gently on his back, and proceeded to lie down next to him, laughing as she did so. Marie laid her body down onto her boyfriend and leaned into his face.

"How did ya like that one?" asked Marie in a seductive voice.

"I must admit, I was quite surprised." said Double Dee, "I was sure that my head was going to slam into the floor."

"Relax, I would never try to hurt you cutie pie," said Marie in a whisper.

Marie looked into Double Dees eyes.

"I think it's about time I showed you my next move," said Marie jokingly, "Here is the position to properly execute it."

Double Dee had no time to think before Marie passed her right leg over Double Dees hips to place herself in a straddle position. The feeling of Marie's body, coupled with her actions and the fact that Double Dee had not been able to be "alone" with her for the last few days initiated his masculine reflexes. Marie had taken notice and giggled.

"Looks like I didn't even have to do anything to accomplish my goal," whispered Marie as she brushed her lips against Double Dees. Just as Double Dee was about to lean in to initiate a kiss with Marie, she pulled away. She stood up, and walked across the room towards his bed, which she proceeded to lay down on.

"It's time to celebrate our little reunion in a physical way." said Marie as she twirled her hair.

Double Dee rose up off of the floor, blushing as he slowly walked over towards his bed. Marie became impatient and playfully grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the bed, at which point Marie initiated a passionate kiss.

Around five minutes after the initial kiss, the couple once again found themselves in only their undergarments. Marie was wearing her red bra and panties, while Double Dee wore plain blue boxer shorts. Marie was currently lying next to him rather than on top of him as usual.

After a few minutes, Double Dee's right hand, which had been caressing the area around Marie's rib cage began creeping its way down towards her hips. Marie was in the heat of the moment and placed her left hand on top of his. Slowly but surely, Marie's hormonal instincts began leading Double Dee's hand towards the front of her body. At this point Double Dee took notice that his hand was venturing down into Marie's underpants to a place that it had never been before. Double Dee was about to receive a "hand's on lesson" on the topic of female anatomy.

The first thing that Double Dee had noticed was that Marie's anatomy was quite different than his own, although he had already known this from his scientific books as well as general common sense. With Marie's help, Double Dee was eventually able to find her sweet spot, although he was completely nervous while doing so. After few minutes of work, seductive whispers, and a vocalization from Marie similar to the one she emitted during their first "adventure", Double Dees job was finished.

Double Dee reclaimed his right hand as Marie laid on the bed next to him, breathing heavily. She laid still for a few moments, after which she uttered one solitary word.

"Wow" said Marie

Five minutes passed, and Marie had finished her duty with Double Dee. Both parties' hearts were still pounding from their intense experiences, as well as their nervousness. Neither of them had no idea what to say to each other after sharing their awkward yet gratifying moments together. Marie decided to break the silence with the only words that she could think of at the moment, and they were words that she truly meant to say.

"I love you Double Dee." said Marie as she stared up into his eyes.

"I love you too Marie," said Double Dee, as he stroked Marie's black hair with his fingers, causing her to smile.

The couple sat in silence for a few minutes staring at the ceiling before Marie chimed in.

"It's funny how much things have changed," said Marie.

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Double Dee.

"Well, I mean with us Kankers and you Eds," said Marie, "To be honest with you Double Dee I never thought that I would be laying in your bed like this hugging you and kissing you like I did every night in my dreams."

Marie paused.

"But I guess dreams really do come true." said Marie as she smiled into Double Dees eyes.

Double Dee smiled at Marie, after which she leaned in and kissed him on the lips quickly before placing her head back on his chest.

"Speaking of changes," said Double Dee, "While observing Ed's behavior around May, as well as his way of words when speaking of her, I would say that Ed is on his way to reciprocating her romantic advances."

"Really!" said Marie, who's eyes lit up with excitement for her little sister.

"Yes," replied Double Dee, "Ed has always had a fear of the female sex, but it seems that talking to May without qualms has stimulated his mind. She has allowed him to realize that girls are people too, and that May is a wonderful, caring, sweet individual."

Marie looked her boyfriend in the eyes smiling as she rolled herself over on top of him so that she could stare directly into his face.

"You and those sexy big words!" said Marie after which she kissed him on the lips quickly, "Simply put, you're saying he's gaga over May too."

"Correct assumption Marie," said Double Dee.

The couple remained in silence for a few more minutes before Marie broke the silence.

"It's kind of hard to believe that Ed and May might wind up together too thinking back on all of the things that happened since we moved here." said Marie, "He's always been the first to run away from us."

Marie paused.

"Remember that day last summer when we showed up, crashed your jawbreaker bank scam, and chased you guys into that kid Johnny's house?" asked Marie.

"Yes, how could I forget," said Double Dee, "Even though we managed to take refuge for a few moments, you girls somehow managed to track us down."

Marie giggled.

"Yep, we never let our Ed's down when they deserved a kiss." said Marie after which she winked, "Anyway that day was the day that I saw Ed run away from us faster than he ever did before. He grabbed you guys under his arms and hauled ass down the lane so fast that for the first time he lost us around the corner."

"I guess in Ed's mind, his story was true," said Double Dee as she chuckled.

"Story?" asked Marie.

"Oh yes," said Double Dee as he chuckled, "After our jawbreaker bank scam fell into shambles just as most of our scams did, we were chased by you into Johnny's house. He promptly asked us to tell him how we came to be in his house. Of course I attempted to stick with the facts, and tell the truthful story, but Johnny found it quite tedious and boring. So I allowed Ed to take over telling the story, and his portion happen to be the part pertaining to your "attack"

Double Dee paused as he looked into the eyes of his smiling girlfriend, who was waiting for him to finish his story.

"As you know, Ed immerses himself in a world of science fiction, and his interpretation of your arrival was quite hilarious. He started by claiming that you girls had eaten "over radiated mashed potatoes" and due to the stimulation caused by the said spuds, you and your sisters turned into giantesses and gained villainous super powers."

"Really?" asked Marie playfully, "What was my super power in his story?"

"It sounds quite bizarre," said Double Dee, "But from what I could interpret, Ed had given you the power to transform houses into various items using laser beams fired from the mouths of chickens located in your arm pits!"

Double Dee chuckled, and continued to tell his story, not realizing that Marie's face was beginning to fill with sadness.

"And the strangest thing was that you had also been given the combined super power to fuse your heads together into one super being and blow a powerful kiss as strong as a cruise missile. I can only imagine what was going on in Ed's head that day."

Double Dee glanced down towards his girlfriend with a smile, expecting her to return a smile of her own. Instead of a beautiful smile, he saw Marie's face filled with melancholy, and her eyes were beginning to tear up.

"Marie?" asked Double Dee as he stroked her hair, "Are you alright?"

Marie looked up into Double Dee's eyes once more.

"You guys really did literally think of us as monsters when you first met us, huh?" asked Marie in a calm voice with a slight sadness on her face.

"Marie I'm so sorry," said Double Dee, "It was meant to be a joke, I had no intentions to offend you."

"You didn't Double Dee," said Marie, "I'm just disappointed in the way that we have acted in the past. By turning into bullies and pushing you guys around all the time, we were no better than those kids that teased us for all of those years back in the city school."

Marie paused trying to hold back tears.

"All's we ever wanted were friends." said Marie, "Ever since we were in kindergarten we were always trying to make friends, but nobody wanted to hang out with us. Then we finally got the opportunity to make new friends and start on a clean slate when we moved here, and what did we do? We tortured everyone here just like we were tortured back in the city. Somehow we thought hurting other feelings was gonna help us cope with our pasts. All's it did was leave us as outcasts with everyone judging us once again."

Marie looked up into Double Dee's eyes.

"And just think, I could have been laying in your arms a whole lot sooner if I wasn't such a scumbag to you and your friends." said Marie.

Marie began crying, at which point Double Dee squeezed her tightly. After a few seconds, he placed his hand on her chin and guided her face so that it was positioned towards his.

"We'll Marie," said Double Dee, "That may be, but what really matters is that we have each other now."

Marie smiled at Double Dee

"And dry your tears love," said Double Dee as he wiped her face off, "You have friends. You have stated earlier that circumstances are changing. Just as I have seen your true colors, all of our friends are beginning to finally see the real Annemarie, Annalee and Annamae Kanker. Did anyone protest your invitation to the party tomorrow night?"

Marie shook her head from side to side as if saying no.

"My thoughts exactly." said Double Dee, "And as I have stated before, Ed is beginning to show affections of his own towards May. In addition, much to my surprise, Eddy and Lee are slowly but surely learning to get along with each other."

Double Dee paused.

"As you said Marie, things are changing," said Double Dee, "And I am glad they are, or I would have missed out on this beautiful moment with the most enchanting lady I have ever laid my eyes on."

Marie smiled up at Double Dee after which she rolled herself over on top of him once again, sharing a passionate kiss with her sweet boyfriend.

"You are so sweet Double Dee!" said Marie, "How do you always know just what to say to make me feel better?"

Before Double Dee had a chance to respond, Marie pressed her lips once again to his for another few seconds, before finally placing her head back on Double Dee's shoulder. The couple laid in silence enjoying each other's company, until Marie decided to finally chime in with a joke.

"It would be so sweet if Lee and Eddy got together," said Marie, "Then we could triple date."

Double Dee glanced into Marie's eyes, not entirely sure if she was joking or not. The thought of Eddy and Lee in a relationship seemed completely bizarre as the two were constantly bickering at each other's throats. With a quick grin from Marie, Double Dee realized that she was joking, and shared a laugh with his girlfriend.

The couple shared a few more laughs, after which Marie realized that the clock was reading 11:30 p.m. The couple decided that it was time to say goodbye and proceeded to get dressed.

Double Dee had opted to walk Marie home. The couple laughed and conversed about the finer things in life as they passed through the construction site on their way to Marie's trailer. The walk went all too quickly, and the couple soon found themselves in the trailer park, ready to part.

"I guess this is it for tonight cutie," said Marie.

"I suppose it is," said Double Dee.

Marie wrapped her arms around Double Dee's neck and looked into his eyes.

"I would love to see you tomorrow afternoon, but we have to run a few errands." said Marie, "We're picking up some more food and sodas from my Mom's restaurant for the party but I'll definitely see you tomorrow night, you can count on it!"

"That's quite alright", said Double Dee, "Ed, Eddy and I have to run some errands to prepare for the party as well."

The couple kissed each other goodbye and shared their "I love you's", after which Marie entered her trailer, waving goodbye to her boyfriend as she closed the door. Double Dee began his trek home, an extremely happy young man.

As Double Dee crawled underneath his large orange quilt, he was comforted to sleep by soothing thoughts of Marie, and wished that he could hold her in his arms as he slept. Although he wasn't as mentally prepared as he hoped to be for the party he was to host the next night, one thing was certain; he couldn't wait to look into his beautiful Annemarie's eyes once again.


	56. Chapter 56

**Chapter 56**

It was around 5:45 p.m. Saturday night. The sun had already disappeared over the horizon, and the cul-de-sac was once again bathed in the beautiful orange hue of twilight. Double Dee had spent the morning and afternoon with his friends, running errands to the business district to pick up sodas and snacks for the big blowout that was set to start in fifteen minutes.

Double Dee was currently on his way down the cross street towards the trailer park. He was wearing a blue silk button down shirt, which was in fact the same shirt that Marie had told him brought out his blue eyes a few days ago. In addition to the ocean blue shirt, he was wearing a pair of tan khaki pants and black dress shoes. He was carrying a bouquet of flowers that he had bought at the business district flower shop. He had not told Marie that he was coming to walk her to the party and hoped to surprise her with the flowers

Double Dee had finally arrived at the Kanker's trailer. He stood in front of the steel door for a few seconds before knocking on it with his characteristic "shave and a hair cut" rhythm. He quickly brushed off his shirt and adjusted his collar and ski hat as he waited for the door to open.

After a few seconds, the inner door unlatched and began opening. Double Dee's eyes were filled with surprise as he found himself looking directly into Tabby's eyes. Tabby was not particularly heavy set per se, but she did have a large waist-to-hip ratio, and the weight that she did have was concentrated in her buttocks, making that ratio appear even larger. Nevertheless, her blue jeans managed to show that off that particular characteristic. In addition to her blue jeans, she was wearing a black t-shirt advertising _VP Racing Fuels_, as well as a pair of high heeled boots. Her long red curls draped over her shoulders and dangled to around the length of her elbows.

Double Dee had not expected Marie's mother to answer the door and was quite nervous upon seeing her standing in the doorway

"Edd, what a surprise!" said Tabby as she smiled, "Come on in, Annemarie's upstairs!"

Double Dee stood on the ground for a few seconds before he finally took up Tabby's offer and began walking into the trailer. Tabby took a seat down in her couch and looked over towards Double Dee.

"Whoah," she said as she smiled, "Boy don't you look handsome this evening. You ready for your big party?"

Double Dee stumbled to get words out of his mouth. This was only his second time talking to Tabby, and he was still quite nervous around her.

"Good evening Ms. Kanker," said Double Dee, "Thank you for your compliment, and I suppose that I am as ready as I'll ever be for my social gathering."

"Edd, please call me Tabby," said Tabby as she smiled and let out a chuckle.

"Certianly," said Double Dee as he smiled and blushed slightly. Tabby smiled back at him after which she began yelling up the stairs.

"Annemarie!" yelled Tabby, "There's someone here to see you!"

"Alright Mom, I'll be right down, I'm just finishing up!" yelled Marie down the stairs.

A few moments later, Marie began descending the stair case. Marie's feet were the first thing Double Dee had laid eyes on, and they were covered by brown high heeled boots. Black leggings emerged from her boots, and passed underneath the blue pleated thin-strapped dress that she was wearing. There was a black belt encircling her waist. In addition, she was wearing her "Annemarie" necklace that Double Dee had given her around her neck. She was carrying a black purse containing her perfume and other accessories.

As soon as Marie's face came into view, Double Dee's jaw metaphorically dropped to the floor. Marie was smiling from ear to ear upon taking sight of Double Dee. Her mother had helped her out with her makeup, and she looked fantastic. Her hair retained her usually sweep style to hide her eye, but was layered and appeared to have been professionally styled.

Double Dee was speechless when Marie descended the last step and stood directly in front of him. He decided to break the silence

"H..He…Hello Marie," said Double Dee as he blushed.

"Hi…Double Dee," said Marie as her face turned as red as a beat.

Double Dee had forgotten that Tabby was in the room, as he was completely immersed in Marie's beauty.

"Marie, you are so beautiful," said Double Dee as he smiled into her eyes.

"Thank you Double Dee," said Marie as she blushed, "You look handsome tonight yourself."

The couple smiled at each other as Tabby shared a smile of her own seeing her daughter in love with her boyfriend. Double Dee walked over to his girlfriend and held out his bouquet of flowers to her.

"These are for you Marie," said Double Dee as he blushed severely.

"Double Dee," said Marie as she observed the flowers, "They're beautiful, thank you so much."

Marie quickly hugged Double Dee. They conversed for a few seconds before deciding that it was time to leave.

"I'll put these in a vase for you," said Tabby as she grabbed the flowers off of Marie.

"Alright," said Tabby as she leaned in and hugged her daughter, "Have fun tonight Annemarie."

"Thanks mom," said Marie as she hugged her mother back, "I will."

Tabby turned to Double Dee.

"And you!" said Tabby jokingly as she wrapped her arms tightly around Double Dee, "Thank you so much for finding that music box in my old house. You have no idea how much that meant to me."

Tabby pulled away and looked into Double Dee's eyes while placing her hand on his shoulder.

"You are such a nice boy Double Dee," said Tabby as she smiled, "Annemarie really knows how to pick a great guy."

Double Dee smiled at Tabby.

"Thank you for your kind words Ms. Kank….."

Tabby gave Double Dee a playful evil glare, at which point he caught on to what she was signaling.

"…..Tabby. I can assure you that I have picked a superb young lady as well."

After a few more minutes of conversing, Marie grabbed a couple of trays of food off of the kitchen counter after which she and Double Dee began their journey back to the cul-de-sac. Tabby smiled as Double Dee escorted her daughter out of the trailer and through the trailer park. Double Dee had offered to carry the heavy trays for Marie, which Tabby saw as an extremely manly gesture.

As the couple walked towards the construction site, Tabby was reminded of her long walks she used to take around the park with Rod. Although she missed them dearly, she was proud that her daughter was able to experience the same feelings she had been able to.

Marie and Double Dee were currently walking down the cross street towards the cul-de-sac conversing.

"So Marie?" asked Double Dee, "I can't help but notice the absence of Lee and May. They are still attending aren't they?"

"Yes they are," said Marie as she smiled into her boyfriend's eyes, "I stayed home and reheated this food while they went to pick up sodas. They should be on their way to your house right now."

"Great," said Double Dee, "It just wouldn't be complete without everyone there."

Marie smiled toward the ground as she switched her purse to her left hand. Double Dee couldn't help but notice that Marie's hair looked exceptionally beautiful this evening and decided to compliment it.

"Marie, your hair looks absolutely exquisite this evening," said Double Dee as he smiled at his girlfriend.

"Thank you Double Dee," said Marie as she blushed, "My mom took us all to her stylist this afternoon to have our hair done for the party. It was great doing something as a family for once."

"I must say that the stylist really knows her craft well," said Double Dee as she blushed and smiled at Marie, "But I strongly believe that you would look this stunning regardless of your hairstyle of choice."

Marie smiled at her boyfriend and blushed, after which she joked.

"Please Double Dee stop with the sweetness!" Marie said playfully, "My heart is almost totally melted away!"

Marie and Double Dee giggled together as they reached the entrance to the cul-de-sac.

Eddy and Ed had decided to stay at Double Dee's house to set up the party. Although they had promised to wait for his return before initiating the celebrations, Eddy's impatience got the best of him. Eddy had chosen the song, "Beach Party Blowout" as the first tune of the evening, an instrumental surf song that Nazz had commonly used at her sprinkler parties. Eddy had also used it the previous summer during a "friend party" he had thrown for Johnny 2x4 after he had a fight with Plank. The music was so loud that Double Dee could hear it from across the street.

"Oh dear," said Double Dee, "It appears that Eddy has already started the party."

Marie giggled as she and Double Dee made their way across the street and up the gravel path to his house. Marie opened the door for, Double Dee who was carrying trays of food, and the couple proceeded into the house.

Double Dee glanced around his living room. Ed and Eddy were standing in the middle of the floor conversing. Both were wearing blue jeans. Ed was wearing a green button down shirt accented by a blue tie. His red hair was gelled and parted on the side. Eddy of course had his hair slicked back using gel, and was wearing the same red button down shirt he had worn on Valentines Day. Oddly enough, he was wearing sun glasses to "heighten his image" even though he was indoors and it was nighttime. Kevin was currently sitting on the couch with Nazz, whispering into her ear, causing her to giggle. Even Johnny 2x4 was already there, sitting on Ed's love seat conversing with his best friend Plank. Of course, due to Eddy's antics, various other male and female students from Peach Creek Junior High also occupied his house.

As soon as Marie shut the door behind her, Eddy took notice of their arrival.

"Double Dee!" yelled Eddy as he walked over towards the couple, Eddy looked at Marie and smiled.

"Eddy, I thought we agreed not to start the party until 7:00?" said Double Dee, "Why are all of our guests already here?"

"Hey, the early bird catches the worm," said Eddy after which he leaned into Double Dee's ear, "And I'm goin fishin. Look at all of these hot chicks just waitin' to be swept off of their feet!"

Double Dee sighed as Eddy playfully patted him on the shoulder and pulled away from him smiling. He turned his attention to Marie.

"Marie," Eddy clicked his tongue twice while positioning his two hands to look like pistols, "Lookin' good tonight"

All three teenagers smiled after which Eddy took notice that Double Dee was holding the food trays.

"Food?" asked Eddy.

"Yes," said Double Dee, "Lasagna and stuffed shells courtesy of Ms. Kanker."

"Groovy," said Eddy as he took the trays, "I'll take these out to the kitchen, be right back."

Double Dee watched as Eddy began making his way out to the kitchen holding his food trays, flirting with every female he passed along the way. At this point, Ed had joined and greeted Double Dee and Marie, as did Kevin and Nazz.

"Sup Double Dee," said Kevin as he playfully punched Double Dee in the arm, "Sweet party your havin!"

"Greetings Kevin," said Double Dee, "I am glad you are enjoying yourself so far."

Nazz turned towards Marie and glanced at her hair. The two girls have never conversed within the entire year and a half they had known each other, and Nazz decided it was time to break the silence.

"Hi Marie," said Nazz, "You look great, I love your hair. Who did it?"

Although Marie had been known to be extremely jealous of Nazz, she couldn't help but feel confident that another girl that wasn't her sisters had complimented her on her beauty and femininity. Marie knew that it was the perfect opportunity to show her true colors, and possibly obtain a girl friend, which was something that she had wanted all of her life.

Marie thanked Nazz for her compliment and returned one of her own. As the two young ladies had their girly discussion, Kevin leaned into Ed and Double Dee and began a conversation of his own.

"Yo Double Dee, you should have seen Dorky tryin' to act like he was Casanova," said Kevin as he snickered, "He already got shot down by five different girls, and one even slapped him in the face."

The three boys couldn't help but share a chuckle at Eddy's overconfident antics. Just then, the door to the house opened and Rolf entered, carrying a large pot of what appeared to be some kind of stew.

"Hello friends," said Rolf as he walked up to his friends, "Rolf is too late for the happening of this hullabaloo?"

"No Rolf," said Double Dee, "In fact, you have arrived just in time."

"Rolf is pleased," said Rolf, "Where may I place my offering for the feast?"

Double Dee glanced down into the pot that Rolf was holding and was greeted with the sight of octopus tentacles, a few slices of fish, and a couple of pigs eyeballs. Double Dee turned away from Rolf's concoction and directed him out toward the kitchen.

"Thank you Ed boy, you will not be disappointed in Nana's work!" yelled Rolf as he headed for the kitchen.

Marie retook her place standing next to Double Dee, holding his hand as the friends began to converse once again. At this point, _Beach Party Blowout _had ended and the sound of _"Fly"_ by Sugar Ray was now emanating from the speakers of Double Dee's entertainment center.

After conversing for a few minutes, the door to Double Dees house opened once again. A few more male and female students entered the house.

May happened to be one of the guests entering the house at the moment. Ed took notice of her prescience and blushed at the sight of her. May was wearing a beautiful white pleated dress, with a black belt wrapped around her waist. Her legs were bare, and she was wearing a pair of white slip-on flats on her feet. Her usual blonde hair was no longer straight; May had had the hairdresser style her hair into loose curls that draped over her shoulders. Her make-up was exquisite just as Marie's was. She really did look beautiful.

"May!" yelled Marie as she ran over to hug her sister. The girls embraced each other, after which May joined Marie next to her boyfriend and his friends.

Ed couldn't take his eyes off of May, and was currently experiencing that "wiggly" feeling inside his stomach again. He noticed that May was approaching his position and began sweating bullets.

"Um….Hi Ed!" said May as she looked up into Ed's eyes and blushed.

Ed noticed May's braces for the first time as she smiled up into his face.

"Hiya May," said Ed as he blushed himself, "You got braces just like Jimmy!"

There was a slight pause.

"Cool." said Ed as he leaned down to get a closer look. May smiled at the fact that Ed liked her new braces.

"And your hair is all loopy and pretty," said Ed in his dopey voice after which he blushed as caught himself speaking his mind.

"Thanks Ed," said May as she batted her eyes, "I think your hair looks cute parted on the side like that."

"Oh shucks," said Ed rather dopily as he looked down while smiling and blushing.

Marie and Double Dee watched smiling as May and Ed flirted with each other in their own little way. In the midst of observing Ed and May's interactions, Double Dee couldn't help but notice that Lee was absent.

"May?" asked Double Dee, "Where is Lee? I was sure that she would have arrived at the same time as you did."

"She did," replied May, "She came in right before me didn't you see her. She said that she was thirsty and that she was going to get a drink from the kitchen."

"I must have missed her," said Double Dee.

"You probably didn't recognize her," said Marie as she grinned, "If you think me and May got made over today at the salon, wait till you see Lee. She looks like a totally different person!"

As the group of friends conversed in the living room, Eddy was out in Double Dee's kitchen placing Marie's food on the kitchen counter with the rest of the refreshments. Shortly after placing the tray on the counter, he heard a familiar voice.

"Greetings Ed boy with the mouth as big as the wheels on Rolf's tractor," said Rolf, "Rolf has brought an offering for your great feast yes."

"Alright Rolfy Boy," said Eddy as he attempted to grab the pot, "I'll just place it here with the…."

"Not quite yet stubby Ed Boy, for you must here the story behind this ancient concoction. Long ago in the old country lived a boy with hands as large as the fruits of the pumpkin vine…"

Eddy groaned as he had inadvertently been sucked into listening to one of Rolf's long drawn out story.

As Eddy stood listening to Rolf's story, he took notice of a young woman he had never seen before entering the kitchen. Eddy's hormonal impulses forced him to check her body out from head to toe. She was wearing black high heeled boots, which were covered by form fitting blue jeans. The jeans showed off her amazing hip to waist ratio, as well as her nicely shaped buttocks. She wore a red body-hugging tank top that exposed the top of her breasts slightly, but not the point where she was attempting to be too sexy. She was quite endowed around that area of her body, and in Eddy's mind, he had already estimated her to be 36 C (he was right). The young woman's face was extremely pretty, and her blue eyes glistened under the lights of the kitchen. Lastly, her long red curly hair was parted on the side, and dangled down over her ears down to the area of her arm pits. She was carrying a tan purse in her left hand.

Eddy was in awe as he watched the young woman of mystery make her way across the kitchen floor towards one of the coolers he had set out for drinks. Her hips swayed as she walked, causing Eddy to become quite excited. The young woman truly had model-like proportions; she was tall, and had beautiful long legs. Eddy watched as the girl opened the cooler and bent down to grab a can of soda, giving Eddy a full view of her perfect rear end.

"Whoa momma," said Eddy to himself, "Now that is a lady,"

The young woman placed her purse on the counter next to the cooler and began going through it. She still had her back to Eddy, much to his viewing pleasure.

"Did you get that Ed boy?" asked the voice of Rolf, breaking Eddy away from his thoughts.

Eddy had been so in tune to watching the girl that he had failed to even listen to one word of Rolf's story.

"Excuse me Rolfie boy!" said Eddy as he adjusted his sunglasses and collar. He ran his fingers through his hair, "I got some fishin to do."

Eddy began dancing and snapping his fingers to the music that was playing as he made his way over to the attractive girl. The song in question was "_Fly_" by Sugar Ray, and the song had reached its chorus by the time that Eddy had found himself within speaking range of the girl:

_I just wanna fly_

_Put your arms around me baby!_

_Put your arms around me baby!_

Eddy walked up to the counter and leaned his elbow on its surface while looking up into the girls face.

"Hey baby, how bout I put my arms around you so that we can fly away together?" said Eddy with a grin on his face.

The girl was much taller than Eddy and looked down into his eyes after he had finished his statement. To Eddy's surprise the girl smiled at him, leaned down into his face, and began speaking.

"Finally, I've been waiting forever for you to use one of those corny pickup lines on me."

Eddy was completely taken back when he heard the sound of the young woman's voice. The young woman's voice resembled a gentler version of a gruff voice that he had been accustomed to running away from. That fact combined with quick glance into the mystery woman's eyes, and the bright red hue of her hair had allowed Eddy to realize that he had just flirted with a familiar girl.

"LEE!" yelled Eddy confused out of his mind, "Is that you?"

"That's my name don't wear it out." said Lee as she snickered.

"But your hair," said Eddy, "It's long."

Eddy blushed as he looked into Lee's made over face. For the first time, her hair was completely pushed away from her forehead and face, draped over her ears and shoulder, and Eddy could finally stare directly into her sparkling blue eyes. In addition, she had picked up "Dental Illusion" a cosmetic product similar to invisalign that allowed her to disguise her ordinarily capped tooth. She was truly stunning, and as much as Eddy hated to admit it, she was 'pretty damn hot'.

"So," said Lee, "My mom took us to the salon this afternoon and I got extensions put in. I'm tryin to grow my real hair out to this length and I wanted to see how it looked. Got a problem wit it?"

"No no," said Eddy as he blushed slightly. Lee couldn't help but blush as well.

"I just…just...we…I..um.."

Eddy could not get his words out of his mouth while staring into Lee's beautiful face. He was forced to turn away.

"We'll I just thought that your hair looked kind of nice." said Eddy as he looked back up into Lee's eyes blushing.

"You really think that Eddy." said Lee softly as she looked towards the floor and blushed.

"Yeah," said Eddy in a dream-like voice after which he and Lee stared at each other for a few seconds. It didn't take long for both boy and girl to begin denying their feelings.

"Don't get any funny ideas!" said Lee, "I'm tryin to find myself a man tonight, and I don't need you crampin my style."

"Oh don't worry," said Eddy, "I'm tryin to score tonight too, and I don't need you around screwing up my chances with the ladies."

"Fine," said Lee as she leaned into Eddy's face.

"Fine," said Eddy back.

"Fine!"yelled Lee even louder.

"FINE! yelled Eddy.

Lee picked up her purse and began walking out of the kitchen towards the living room rather angrily as Eddy returned to the buffet to continue organizing the trays. Lee turned around as she walked towards the door and watched Eddy walk away for a few seconds, before turning back around to continue her walk to rejoin her sisters. At that point, Eddy turned around and was once again captivated by Lee's swaying hips as she walked out of the kitchen. Eddy returned to organizing the food, with a slight grin on his face.


	57. Chapter 57

**Chapter 57**

As Lee made her way into the living room, she couldn't help but feel flattered that a boy had just complimented her on her hair, and appeared to have been struck speechless by her beauty. Lee had come to this party with the intent to show her true colors, just as May and Marie had before. She wanted to begin her transformation back into the sweet, caring, and beautiful girl she had been prior to her experiences with bullying and abuse.

Lee entered the living room and proceeded to join her two sisters and their "men" by the front window.

"Hey Double Dee," said Lee, "Nice party!"

Double Dee stood confused as he took sight of the tall young woman standing in front of him. Lee had spoken using a gentle lady-like voice that Double Dee couldn't recognize. He glanced at Marie and then back at the red headed teenager.

"I'm terribly sorry," said Double Dee, "Have we met before,"

Lee had almost forgotten that she was practically unrecognizable and saw the perfect opportunity to play a joke on Double Dee. She quickly glanced at Marie and winked, signaling to Marie to play along with whatever she was going to do.

Although Lee was using this party as an opportunity to reinvent herself as a person, she couldn't resist the call of a great joke. Lee walked over to Double Dee and wrapped her arms around his neck, causing him to blush and become extremely nervous. Double Dee wanted to push her away from him, but was too respectful of girls to place his hands on her. He wanted nothing to do with her romantic advances as he was in a dedicated relationship with Marie.

"Come on Double Dee," said Lee as she moved really close to his face, "It's me Julie. How could you forget me after the times we shared last summer? I'm sure you definitely remember what happened down the shore on the beach?"

Lee chuckled.

"DOUBLE DEE!" yelled Marie in an angry tone. She was obviously joking, although she was slightly jealous of the fact that Lee had her arms around Double Dee,

"Who the hell is this tramp?" yelled Marie.

"Marie I honestly haven't a clue. I have never met this young woman prior to this evening." said Double Dee in an extremely nervous tone.

Double Dee was now sweating bullets. His worst fears had come true, due to unexpected circumstances that he couldn't explain, he was once again about to lose his Marie's trust, something that he couldn't bear to go through again. To make matters worse, there would probably be no way that she would take him back again after something like this.

The sisters could not hold back their laughter any longer upon seeing Double Dee's pale face. Lee pulled away from him and took her place next to Marie. May joined the girls and shared a laugh with her sisters.

"Relax Double Dee," said Marie, "We're just playing with you."

Double Dee stood confused while staring at the sisters after which he looked directly into the mystery young lady's eyes and took note that she looked like a slimmer spitting image of Tabby. With that realization, coupled with the fact that Marie had made the statement that Lee looked like a totally different person after her makeover had allowed him to realize the truth.

"Lee?" asked Double Dee, "My goodness I almost didn't recognize you."

"I told ya didn't I?" said Marie, "She finally decided to give in and get all dolled up for once in her life."

"Ah shut up Marie," said Lee, "You're just jealous cause it took you fourteen years to become half as hot as I did in three hours!"

"At least I didn't have to get made over to look presentable Lee!" said Marie as she playfully slapped her sister.

The girls bickered for a few more moments and then shared a laugh.

"Besides, I need a change." said Lee as she smiled.

"Yeah," said May, "But the real reason you did it was for Eddy!"

May had been sure to say Eddy's name in a long drawn out tone as if to make fun of her sister. Lee was reminded of the rendezvous she had just shared with Eddy in the kitchen. As much as Lee hated to admit it, she had somehow gained a soft spot for Eddy over the last few days of working with him to get Marie and Double Dee back together. Lee had always found Eddy attractive, but had never planned on taking her feelings to a level beyond a simple girlhood crush. However, over the last few days, Lee began seeing a side of Eddy that she had never seen before after he willingly admitted his jealousy over Double Dee's relationship. Inside, she was amazed that he was a good enough friend to be willing to admit his insecurities in front of everyone to retain his friendship with Double Dee in addition to helping his friend win back the love of his life. That took guts and bravery, and the sweet girl that was hidden behind Lee's domineering demeanor couldn't help but melt thinking of it.

Eddy's opinion was in fact one of the reasons why she received her makeover, as much as she didn't want to openly admit it. Lee had accomplished the first step in redeeming herself, which was restoring her physical appearance. Although Eddy did seem happy with her "true" physical appearance, she was disappointed that she had to ruin her moment with him by snapping at him with her stubborn attitude. She was doing the exact thing that her and her mother had told Marie not to do when it came to Double Dee. She began to wonder if it was ever possible that Eddy would like her back, due to her own horrible past as well as the way she had treated him. She had jokingly tested Eddy over the last couple days, asking him if he wanted to hold her hand, as well as sitting with him in class; and received generally negative reactions from him. She could only hope that she could talk to him again at a later time tonight, and show him who she really was inside.

Lee decided to keep up with her stubborn charade for her sisters.

"Huh," said Lee, "Alright the little man is cute, but I'm not lookin' for a hook up with him tonight, I can get that anytime. Tonight's my night to play the field!"

"Whatever you say Lee," said Marie as she grinned at her sister.

"Damn right whatever I say," said Lee, "Now go get back to your man."

Lee turned to May.

"And you," said Lee as she motioned for May to come towards her with her index finger, "Why don't you take Ed somewhere private and reel him in. The guy's crazy over ya, and it's time that ya went in for the kill like a true Kanker."

May smiled at Lee as she smiled back at her little sister.

"Alright girls," said Lee as she began walking into the dining room, "I'm off to find myself a man, keep yours in check!"

Lee winked at her sisters as she disappeared around the corner. At this point _Allstar_ by Smash Mouth was playing over the speakers. May and Marie rejoined Double Dee and Ed.

"Alright dream boat," said Marie as she leaned into Double Dee's face, "I thinks it's time we got away from all of this hustle and bustle for a little bit and spent some quiet time together. How's that sound?"

Double Dee looked into Marie's eyes and noticed that her face was adorned with her adventurous and amorous grin. Double Dee realized that it was "that time of the night" again and already knew what to expect. He sighed playfully.

"I'll be up in a few minutes, I just have to discuss something with Ed," said Double Dee as he smiled.

Marie grinned and turned away from her boyfriend and began walking towards the stairs, flaunting her hip sway purposely to excite Double Dee. She reached the railing of the stairs at which point she turned around and placed her index finger on her lips while smiling at Double Dee, attempting to make herself look sexy. Double Dee blushed as he watched Marie begin to ascend the staircase to his bedroom. Even though he had been in this situation many times before, he still felt quite nervous as he had no idea what kind of "fun" Marie would have in store for him tonight.

Double Dee shook off his feelings for a few seconds and leaned into Ed's ear.

"Ed," said Double Dee, "Why don't you take May outside on my back patio and get to know her a little more. After all, you said yourself that you thought she was an enchanting girl."

Ed fearfully turned around towards May, who was staring dreamily at him. Ed couldn't help but blush as he turned back around to his friend.

"But Double Dee, I don't know what to say," said Ed rather nervously.

"Not to worry Ed," said Double Dee, "Just be yourself, I am sure that you and May share similar hobbies and interests."

Ed glanced back at May who was smiling up into Ed's eyes. Ed had never been captivated by a girl's beauty as much as he was right now; it was that fact that allowed him to turn around and walk towards May who began to blush.

"Um..May…" said Ed as he looked towards the floor while blushing and rubbing his right hand on the back of his head, "Do you want to go outside and talk?"

May's eyes lit up at Ed's question.

"Just me and you?" asked an excited May.

Double Dee had secretly given Ed the advice to talk to May alone with the thought that she would think that Ed came up with the idea himself. Naturally Ed's idiosyncrasies had caused him to inadvertently blow his cover. He turned around to Double Dee.

"Just me and her Double Dee?" asked a nervous Ed.

Double Dee sighed at Ed's antics and placed his palm on his face, sliding it down over his chin.

"Yes Ed, just you and May," said Double Dee in a sarcastic tone.

Ed turned back to May, who was too excited to realize that he was receiving advice from Double Dee.

"Yeah, just you and me," he said rather dopily as he blushed.

"Okay," said May as she blushed and looked at the ground, "Let's go,"

Ed looked down as he watched May's sparkling blue fingernails curl around his hand, at which point he felt a wave of warmth surge throughout his entire body. May was currently undergoing a similar feeling as she began leading Ed towards the kitchen, where the sliding glass door leading to the patio was located.

Double Dee watched happily as May and Ed began weaving their way in between guests to make their way to the kitchen. After the couple disappeared Double Dee quickly turned his attention to the stairs. He stood at the bottom looking up into the upstairs hallway, thinking of what kind of "adventure" Marie had in store for him tonight. Although Double Dee was still shy when it came to "physical love" he was quite excited by the prospect of taking part in another one of Marie's activities. He quickly adjusted his shirt and began making his way upstairs.

Just as Double Dee was making his way up the stairs, Ed and May had finally reached the sliding patio door. Ed grabbed the door and slid it to the open position. The door would usually squeak loudly as one would open it; thankfully the loud music drowned out the irritating noise

"After you my lady," said Ed rather enthusiastically as he moved to the side of the door to let May out into the yard before him. He had seen many movies in his life, not only monster movies, but also love stories. He knew now was the time to emulate the characters in those kind of movies.

"Thank you Ed," said May enthusiastically in her adenoidal voice.

May walked out of the door and into the cold air. May couldn't help but shiver, as she was wearing a strapless dress and her legs were bare. Ed took notice that May was shivering and walked over to her. He recalled seeing a movie where a man removed his own jacket and gave it to his girlfriend to keep her warm in the winter air. Ed decided to follow the movie's example.

Ed had opted to wear a green button down shirt and blue tie that night, but simply could not bear to part with his trademark oversized green coat. Ed removed the coat from his body and began to nervously place it around May's shoulders.

"Fear not May," said Ed, "For the many folds of my trusty jacket will keep you as snug as a bug in the rug."

Ed was a big guy for his age. His height was around 5' 9" in contrast to May who was around 5'3". Due to this fact, the jacket was simply too large for May and would have drug on the ground if she attempted to walk. This wasn't the first time that May had worn Ed's jacket (she had forced him to trade clothes with her as a bribe for a homeroom switch last fall) however, it was the first time that Ed had voluntarily given up his coat for her to wear. May blushed heavily at Ed's words, as well as his kind gesture. Her heart was beginning to melt already, even though they hadn't been outside for a full minute.

"Thanks Ed, you are so sweet!" said May as she stared up into Ed's eyes.

Although Double Dee had told Ed to be himself while outside talking to May, he had already been relying on his third favorite thing in life after gravy and buttered toast as his life line: movies. The love stories that Ed has seen had given him great ideas thus far for words to use with May. He figured that he would continue using movie references to help him out until he felt comfortable enough on his own.

"Not as sweet as your beautiful smile!" said Ed enthusiastically as he smiled at May.

"Oh Ed," said May, "You're making me blush."

The couple stood in the middle of Double Dee's patio staring at the ground for a few seconds before May laid her eyes on a pair of white lawn chairs in the reclined position. The chairs had been neglected to be put away for the winter. May looked up towards the crystal clear sky and took note that the sky was filled with stars.

"Hey Ed," said May, "Do you want to lay in those chairs and look at the stars together?"

Ed paused as he looked up towards the sky, after which he looked back to May.

"Okie Dokie Spokie!" said Ed happily, causing May to smile. The two teenagers took their seats in the reclining lawn chairs, staring up into the night sky together. Ed and May sat in silence for a few minutes enjoying each other's company.

Back inside the house, Lee was currently standing at the vanity in Double Dee's downstairs half bathroom adjusting her eyeliner using whatever she had in her purse. She promised herself that when she left the bathroom, she would find Eddy and try to talk to him on a friendly level. She needed to show him the beautiful person she truly was. With her makeup adjusted, and a quick run of her fingers through her long red curls, she was ready to go about her task.

Lee walked out of the bathroom with an air of confidence, intent on finding Eddy. After a quick search of the living and dining room, Lee had finally found Eddy in the kitchen, the place where they had first met that night.

Lee's smile turned into a frown when she saw Eddy hitting on another girl just as he had attempted court Lee earlier that night. Upon seeing him flirting with another girl, all of Lee's confidence vanished. She began to think that she really didn't have a chance with Eddy if he could forget about her as fast as he did and move on to another girl. Lee was emotionally crushed and her bottom lip began trembling as she walked out of the kitchen to another location, attempting to hide her tears.

If Lee would have stuck around for a few more minutes, she would have seen Eddy be delivered yet another slap in the face from a girl that did not appreciate his "compliment." Eddy groaned as the girl walked away from him in a rage. The girl in question was the last single girl at the party, and Eddy was now out of "chicks" to attempt his bizarre acts of courtship on.

Eddy sighed as he grabbed a can of Pepsi out of the cooler and popped it open with the characteristic "hiss and snap" sound. He took a sip after which he stood observing his guests interactions for a few minutes. He was quite upset that no girl at the party had returned his affections, and was beginning to feel like the third wheel. Eddy was not jealous of his friends anymore, and he certainly was happy that they had found love, but he couldn't help but feel left out being one of the only guys there without a date. Even though he claimed to just want to hook up with chicks, somewhere deep down inside Eddy longed for a girl who he could become close to and never let go, just as a couple of his friends have. He was beginning to think that no girl would ever reciprocate his feelings of attraction; little did he know that there was a girl in the house that did in fact have feelings for him. If Eddy searched his feelings, he would finally be able to see the truth.


	58. Chapter 58

**Chapter 58**

As Ed and May began their conversation out on the back porch, Double Dee had just finished ascending the red carpeted stairs leading to the second floor hallway. The hallway was dark and the loud music downstairs gradually began to diminish as Double Dee made his way away from the stairs to his room.

Double Dee eventually reached the door leading to his room and paused for a few seconds before entering. He could only imagine the "adventure" that he was to face upon crossing the threshold. After a few seconds, Double Dee sighed, smiled and reached for the doorknob.

Double Dee turned the knob and began pushing the door inward. The door opened rather easily, albeit with a slight "squeak and creak sound". As the door opened, Double Dee glanced over his room. The lights were on, but Marie was nowhere to be found. He entered and began walking across the red carpet cautiously as he had no idea what to expect.

Just then, the door slammed shut behind him. Double Dee turned around and discovered that it was none other than Marie who was responsible. Marie had positioned herself so that she would be hidden behind the door when it was in the open position. She was currently leaning against the wall. Her right leg was on the ground, whilst the other was bent with her foot planted on the wall. She was once again touching her index finger to her mouth as she seductively grinned at her boyfriend.

The biggest surprise to Double Dee was Marie's manner of dress, or lack thereof. Marie had undressed herself, and was currently standing in a pink lacey bra with a small red bow in between the two cups, as well as an equally lacey matching pair of panties. Double Dee's eyes darted up and down Marie's nicely toned body without question as he blushed heavier than he ever did in his whole entire life. The mere sight of Marie in her provocative undergarments had activated his "reproductive instincts."

"It's about time." said Marie in a seductive tone as she walked towards Double Dee who was standing by his bed.

"Um…Marie…um….you…uh…"

Double Dee was attempting to form words, however, he was too captivated by Marie's advances to be able to make any kind of sense.

"Don't talk." said Marie as she placed her index finger on his lips as if to silence him, after which she shoved him down on his bed. Marie promptly crawled onto the bed, and once again straddled her boyfriend. She leaned her body down onto his and placed her lips extremely close to his face.

"I decided to make a little stop at _Victoria's Secret_, after I was finished getting my hair done. " said Marie as she grinned, "I hope you like part one of my gift to you for being the sweetest, and sexiest man alive."

Double Dee was at a loss for words. Marie was in an extremely "amorous" and "aggressive" mood this evening for some reason, and although her advances surprised Double Dee, he enjoyed them very much.

"I can feel that you're ready for part 2 of my present." said Marie as she looked down and chuckled.

Double Dee blushed as Marie sat up on him, her legs still straddling him.

"But first, I'm gonna warm you up a little more." said Marie with a grin on her face.

Double Dee watched as Marie reached both of her hands towards the bow on her bra. Unlike most ladies undergarments, which had the connecting hooks on the back, Marie's bra was connected using a small hook concealed by the red bow. Double Dee began sweating bullets, as he watched Marie unhook her bra, and remove it, casually tossing it on to the floor after she did so. At that moment, Double Dee had gotten his first "visual lesson" on the topic of female secondary sex characteristics.

In the seconds that followed, Marie's hand reached down and led Double Dee to his first "hands on lesson" on the topic at hand. After a couple seconds, Marie began unbuttoning Double Dees shirt; needless to say it eventually wound up on the floor directly on top of her discarded bra. In the seconds that followed, Marie had ripped Double Dees jeans off of him in one fluid motion, revealing a pair of black boxer shorts. Marie placed her legs over Double Dee and began making out with him for a few seconds as she straddled him on his bed.

"Now," said Marie with a grin on her face, "Time for your big surprise."

Marie began kissing Double Dee on his neck after which she moved to his chest. She continued sliding down his body until she reached the area around his navel, grinning seductively up at him as she did so.

"Marie.…what…a..are you doing?" asked a nervous Double Dee.

Marie giggled after which she grabbed Double Dee's comforter. She placed it over her head, shrouding herself under it. Double Dee began sweating as he felt Marie begin removing his boxer shorts. After he was "exposed", Marie lifted the comforter and glanced up into Double Dees eyes with a grin on her face.

"No peeking," said Marie playfully after which she chuckled and placed the comforter back over her head. Double Dee began speaking rather nervously.

"Marie, I really don't believe that I am prepared to take part in a physical activity as intense as this. Perhaps we could start with something more grou….nded…uh….."

Double Dees protest was silenced as soon as he began to feel Marie performing her "duty". The space that his big words were meant to fill was soon occupied by heavy breathing and sighs. Marie ceased her actions momentarily and peered her head out from under the comforter.

"Still want to start with something more grounded?" asked Marie playfully. Double Dees face appeared as if he was on cloud nine, and he was currently boasting a rather large smile. Even the shy gentlemanly Double Dee no longer had any qualms with Marie's actions after getting a small taste of what she had in store for him

"Didn't think so," said Marie as she smiled up at her boyfriend, "Just tell me when okay?"

Double Dee, still with a dopey smile on his face, nodded down at Marie as he blushed. Marie chuckled and disappeared underneath the quilt to finish what she had started.

As Marie and Double Dee were enjoying each other's company upstairs, Eddy was currently sitting on the living room couch, sipping a soda as "Big Yellow Taxi" by the Counting Crows played in the background.

Eddy watched as Kevin sat with Nazz on the living room loveseat, sharing a laugh with her. As he watched his good friend having fun with his girlfriend, he couldn't help but feel left out not having a date. Eddy finished his soda and began walking out to the kitchen to retrieve another, at which point something caught his eye from the back porch of the house. He peered out of the sliding glass doors to see Ed and May sharing their night together under the stars and conversing happily. Eddy smiled for his friend Ed, who had gotten over his fear of girls and was on his way to finally getting a girlfriend.

Although Eddy was happy for his best friends, he felt rather lonely and left out. The purpose of this party was two-fold; to celebrate Marie and Double Dee's reunion, as well as for Eddy to hopefully find a girl of his own. Eddy began to think that it just wasn't meant for him to have a girl in his life, as all of his attempts to court females have led to disaster.

Eddy needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of the party and calm his nerves. He decided that Double Dee's fathers den was the best place to do it. Double Dee had shut the large, curtained French doors leading into his den and had declared that area off –limits at the beginning of the party. Nevertheless, Eddy disobeyed his friend and opened the doors, hoping to find a quiet safe haven to regain his confidence.

Eddy entered the den and closed the door quickly to avoid being caught. Just as Eddy had shut the door, he heard a slight sniffle from behind him, as well as a gentle feminine voice.

"Had to get away too huh?"

Eddy turned around to see the same red headed girl he had seen earlier in the kitchen. Lee was sitting on the couch with her legs crossed, staring at Eddy with an expression of melancholy on her face. Her blue eyes were quite puffy, and her black eye liner was smeared down her face. It was obvious that she had been crying.

Eddy was still taken aback that the extremely attractive girl he was gazing at was actually Lee Kanker, the girl that he had desperately attempted to avoid at all costs for a year and a half. He was even more amazed that she was openly displaying emotions, as he had never thought that Lee would have been capable of crying.

"Yeah," said Eddy as he looked towards the floor, "I just needed some time, that's all."

Lee looked up into Eddy's eyes and could tell that he too was feeling left out by being the "third wheel" so to speak. She decided that now was the time that she would try her best to show him who she really was.

"Well since we're both in here anyway," said Lee as she uncrossed her legs and sat forward, "Why don't you come over here and sit down for a little while?"

Lee patted the seat cushion next to her on the couch.

"Sure," said Eddy as he sighed and walked over towards where Lee was sitting. He took a seat on seat cushion next to Lee, and sat leaning forward slightly with his hands folded. Lee leaned backwards and onto the arm rest, while crossing her right leg over her left.

The two sat in silence for a while before Eddy finally began speaking.

"So nice night huh?" asked Eddy as he looked into Lee's eyes.

"Yeah," said Lee rather quietly as she looked down towards the floor.

Eddy gazed over at Lee and looked into her eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, Lee looked beautiful. Although Eddy had found other girls physically attractive, he was in all honesty enamored with Lee's beauty the most out of any girl he had ever laid eyes on. Eddy looked away from her and blushed. Even though Eddy made himself out to be confident around girls, he became a dedicated introvert at the sight of a girl he really admired.

The two sat in silence for a little while longer, after which Lee began speaking.

"McGee huh?" asked Lee, "I take it you're Irish?"

"Yeah," said Eddy, "Both of my parents are mostly Irish, but I have some German on my mom's side."

Eddy paused after which he looked into Lee's eyes once again.

"How about Kanker, where do you and your sisters come from?" asked Eddy.

"It's complicated," said Lee, "We all have different fathers so we all have different ancestries."

"Really?" asked Eddy, "But you girls all called that guy that picked May up from school yesterday 'Dad'?"

"Yeah," said Lee, "We all call him 'Dad' but he is really only May's father. I'll spare the details but the way things worked out, my dad turned out to be a loser that didn't want anything to do with me. Marie's father is rotting away in prison as we speak, and he probably doesn't even know she exists, not that he would want her anyway."

Lee paused.

"My mom and May's dad had a really good relationship until things went sour and they wound up breaking up. He always treated me and Marie on an equal level to May, even though we weren't his biological daughters."

Lee looked into Eddy's eyes.

"Being a father is more than just impregnating someone," said Lee, "Any guy can do that, but it takes a real man to take responsibility and be there for his children. That's why me and Marie view May's dad as our true father. He was always there for us."

Eddy sat in surprise that Lee had just told him so much about her life and her family situation. Although he was curious to hear more, he remained silent as to not overstep any kind of boundaries. After a few seconds, Lee chimed in once more.

"Anyway," said Lee, "My grand pop on my mom's side was almost 100% Dutch, and my grand mom was around half and half Scotch-Irish. From what my mother told me, my father's last name was McLaughlin, that's about as Irish as you can get."

Lee snickered, after which Eddy shared a chuckle himself.

"I guess the Irish is where I get the red hair and freckles from." said Lee as she smiled.

Eddy's curiosity got the best of him.

"So what about Marie and May?" asked Eddy.

"We're not sure about Marie," said Lee, "Her father's last name is Melchior. We went to the library to research it one day after school, and the books we found said that it was a German last name."

Lee paused while looking into Eddy's eyes.

"As for May, she got almost 100% Irish from her father's side." said Lee.

There was another bout of silence after which Lee remembered a couple of things that she had brought in her purse that she had meant to return to Eddy.

"Oh yeah," said Lee as she reached into her purse, "Here are your pictures back."

Lee handed Eddy the two pictures that she had confiscated from his room last Wednesday night. Eddy gazed at the photographs, one of which was of his family, the other of which was much more embarrassing. The photograph was in fact taken by his brother as a prank. Eddy was naked and about to get into the shower when he dropped something on the floor. As Eddy bent over to pick it up, his brother barged in and took the incriminating picture of his rear end.

"I have to admit that you do have a cute little ass." said Lee as she smiled.

Eddy, rather than being infuriated couldn't help but crack a smile at the photograph. That smile soon turned into full out laughter as he shared a good laugh at his embarrassing photograph with Lee

"So whos idea was it to take a picture of your ass anyway?" asked Lee as she snickered.

"That would be my idiot brother." said Eddy.

The mention of Eddy's brother triggered intense emotions within Lee. As much as Lee seemed to be okay with it, her little "rendezvous" with Eddy's brother in his trailer had been haunting her since that fateful day in the amusement park. The mental trauma that Lee had faced from her abuse had caused her to do some stupid things with men that she wasn't particularly proud of. Eddy's brother was the only adult that she had ever actively pursued, and quite frankly she felt disturbed after it had happened. To make matters worse, she had dragged May in with her to "help her out" even though Lee had done most of the work. Her main objective during her initial abuse was to protect her little sister; she had inadvertently done the exact opposite last summer. Lee had not entered a situation like that since, and now that she was trying to reinvent herself, she certainly wasn't thinking about doing it any time soon.

"I only met him once," said Lee, "But he really was a jerk beating up on someone who's three times smaller than him. I wanted to walk over and smash his face in for doing that to you."

Lee giggled, as did Eddy.

"The big guy really went down pretty easy after Ed cracked him with that steel door," said Lee.

"Yeah," said Eddy, "You don't know how satisfying that was for me when I saw that happen."

Eddy and Lee giggled.

"Not that I even give a damn," said Eddy, "But did he wake up while you and your sisters were still there? The kids carried us out of the park pretty quick after it happened."

Lee paused for a second at Eddy's question. She decided to alter the story to avoid the details of her and Eddy's brother's encounter.

"We followed you guys out, but not before we each gave him a kick in the face for you." said Lee as she laughed, "As we were walking away from him, we heard him get up. We turned around and watched him stumble over to the door. He picked up the door and put it back on the hinges while cursing up a storm."

Lee snickered as Eddy smiled. Eddy glanced down at the pictures he was holding, and decided to ask a question that he had been dying to ask Lee since Thursday.

"Hey Lee," said Eddy, "What really stopped you from passing those flyers of me around the school?"

Lee looked down at the floor and twirled her thumbs.

"Well, ya know," said Lee, "I figured you learned your lesson. And after all of those sweet, heartfelt words that you said, I just couldn't do something like that to you."

Lee turned towards Eddy and smiled into his eyes.

"Look," said Lee, "As much as I hate to admit it, I think you're an okay guy, I actually enjoyed sitting here and talking to you."

Lee blushed after her last statement after which Eddy responded.

"Well as much as _I _hate to admit it, I think you're an alright girl too." said Eddy as he smiled.

Lee smiled back into Eddy's eyes causing him to blush as he became mesmerized by her beauty once again. The two sat in awkwardness for around thirty seconds before they heard the sound of girl's voices walking by the French doors leading into the den.

"I guess it's time that you went back out there to play the field." said Lee.

"Yeah," said Eddy, "I guess so."

Eddy got up off of the couch and began walking towards the door. Just as Eddy was about to turn the handle, he quickly whipped around to face Lee.

"You know what," said Eddy, "I was actually just thinking about grabbing us a couple of sodas and coming back. Will you be here when I get back?"

Lee sat shocked.

"Sure," said Lee as she blushed, "I'll be here."

"Great." said Eddy as he stared into Lee's eyes.

"Great." said Lee as she smiled at Eddy and twirled her hair, an action that all three sisters were guilty of doing whenever they were in front of a boy they admired.

Eddy smiled as he opened the French door and walked out, shutting it behind him with an audible click. Lee wasted no time and opened her purse, grabbing her makeup mirror and eyeliner. Her previous work had been smeared by her tears, but she would be sure that her makeup was good as new by the time Eddy returned with their sodas.

In contrast to the busy party that was going on at Double Dee's house, the Park n' Flush Trailer park was relatively tranquil. For the first time in ages, Tabby had finally had the entire trailer to herself. She was currently watching _The Notebook_, a classic love story based on a novel of the same name. Although she was quite lonely, she admired the fact that her daughters were finally making friends and stepping out from behind the social wall they had created for themselves over the last few years.

Tabby's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. The knock had no definite pattern or rhythm like Double Dee's "shave and a hair cut", and consisted of a series of five solid taps. Tabby did not expect any visitors and was quite surprised that she had a guest.

Tabby quickly walked over to the door, and unlocked the deadbolt. She opened the brown door and was met with surprise at who she saw. Standing in front of her was a familiar man of average height, around 5'10". The man had short blonde hair styled in a crew cut, and also kept a neat blonde moustache over his lip. He was wearing a yellow shirt used to represent "Caterpillar Inc." in addition to a pair of blue jeans. On his feet were a pair of brown work boots.

Tabby stared up into the man's blue eyes for a few seconds before she finally broke the silence.

"Hello Rod," said Tabby.

"Hello Tab," said Rod. He was originally from Texas, thus his deep voice contained a southern drawl. "Is this a bad time?"

"No no," said Tabby as she moved away from the doorway, "Please come in."


	59. Chapter 59

**Chapter 59**

"I'm sorry for dropping in without calling," said Rod as he walked into the trailer, "I was working late, and I figured I'd swing by and drop of some money for Annalee's trip.

Tabby shut the steel door and turned around to face Rod, who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Don't be sorry," said Tabby awkwardly, "I wasn't doing anything tonight but sitting on my big ass anyway."

Rod chuckled at Tabby's joke after which she began walking out into the kitchen.

"Pepsi?" asked Tabby as she opened the woodsy brown 80's _Sears Coldspot_ refrigerator

"Sure," said Rod.

Tabby grabbed two cans of Pepsi out of the refrigerator and returned to the living room. She handed one of the cans to Rod, who quickly opened it and took a rather large sip. After he finished his sip, he set the can down on the coffee table and took a seat on the left end of the couch. Tabby opened her soda and sipped hers in a gentle manner as she retook her seat on the rightmost couch cushion.

The two sat in silence for a few seconds until Rod remembered the main motivation for his visit; to talk to Lee about the retreat that Tabby had mentioned to him on the phone the previous night. Upon entering the trailer he realized that the trailer was much quieter and emptier than usual.

"Where are the girls, shopping?" asked Rod.

"No," said Tabby, "They're actually at a friend's house."

"Really?" asked Rod in a surprised tone.

"Yes," said Tabby, "You met Edd right? He's having a little get together for all of his friends tonight and the girls were invited."

"That's great!," said Rod, "He's a great guy. Very respectful of others, especially Annemarie. I really liked that about him. You can tell that they are really close just by the way they look at each other."

"So you see it too," said Tabby as she smiled, "It's hard to believe that Annemarie is already old enough to have a boyfriend, let alone be in love."

Rod and Tabby sat in silence watching the television for a few seconds. Rod took a quick sip of his soda and continued speaking.

"Speaking of relationships, I guess the girls have already told you what happened with me and Linda." said Rod with sadness in his voice.

"Yeah," said Tabby as she looked into Rods eyes, "I am so sorry Rod, that must have been terrible."

Rod looked into Tabby's eyes.

"Yeah," said Rod, "But it was probably for the best."

"What do you mean Rod?" asked Tabby, "She cheated on you, that's the lowest of the low."

"Well, it's a long story," said Rod, "When I first met her she seemed like a nice woman. She carried herself well and seemed polite and lady like. We dated for a few months before she moved in with me, which is when things started going sour."

"What happened?" asked Tabby as she stared at Rod with a look of concern.

"Well, I found out real quick that she wasn't what she seemed to be." said Rod, "Although we did have our share of good times and she treated the girls well, there always seemed to be some kind of tension when we were alone."

Rod paused.

"Every Friday she would go out drinking with her friends, and sometimes come home so drunk, that she was barely able to get up the stairs." said Rod, "I asked her if she could cut down on the drinking for her own sake but she refused and always called me a control freak."

Rod took a sip of his soda and looked into Tabby's eyes.

"In reality, it was her who was the control freak," said Rod, "She could go out with her friends whenever she wanted, but she would start a big fight whenever I wanted to have any of my friends over, or go out to see them."

"That's not right," said Tabby, "And then she cheats on you? She's really got some guts. She could have just told you that it was over instead of having to stoop to that level."

"Really, I was the one who should have ended it," said Rod, "I guess I was just so upset from the breakup with you that I needed some…."

Rod caught himself speaking of something which was forbidden to be discussed. Rod and Tabby have not spoken of their breakup since it had happened. Both Rod and Tabby were still emotionally hurt, and to speak about their relationship in front of one another was forbidden for the sake of their feelings.

Tabby and Rod sat on the couch in silence, attempting to recover from the awkward words that were just spoken. Tabby decided to lighten up the conversation.

"Don't sweat it Rod," said Tabby, "Remember that song that my girl friend Tamika used to play in the car all the time?"

The song in question was _Everybody Plays the Fool_ by the Main Ingredient. Tabby began singing the lyrics while she smiled.

_Everybody Plays the Fool, sometimes._

Rod joined in with her while smiling for the second line.

_ There's no exception to the rule. _

_Listen baby!_

_It may be factual, may be cruel_

_I ain't lyin'_

_Everybody plays the fool."_

Tabby and Rod shared a giggle together after they finished singing the song together.

"That is a catchy tune," said Rod as he smiled at Tabby.

"Yeah," said Tabby, "Tammy always knew how to pick out good tunes."

The two sat in silence for a few more seconds, when Tabby posed another question.

"So I heard you finally took the fireman's test a few weeks ago," said Tabby, "How'd that go?"

"Great," said Rod, "I scored a 95, but my veteran's points boosted me up to 105. They sent me a letter congratulating me, and said that they're gonna be starting a class at the academy next month."

Rod turned towards Tabby.

"You're looking at a future city fire fighter." said Rod as he smiled.

"That's great Rod!" said Tabby excitedly, "I take it you didn't tell the girls the good news yet?"

"Nope," said Rod, "I was going to wait for a while to surprise them."

"Now it all makes sense how you were able to pick up that new insurance plan to get May's braces," said Tabby, "You'll be able to afford it no problem with that new $60,000 solid salary."

Rod smiled at Tabby after which he continued speaking.

"Now don't tell the girls just yet," said Rod, "But I'm thinking about buying that nice little split on that cul-de-sac right across from where Edd lives. When I picked him up, it was up for sale for a pretty decent price. I'll finally be able to get out of the city and be closer to the girls at the same time."

Tabby was astounded.

"I think that's a great idea!" said Tabby, "The girls would certainly enjoy that."

"Remember, don't tell the girls just yet," said Rod calming an excited Tabby down, "It's not set in stone and I hate to make promises that I can't keep."

Tabby smiled and nodded at Rod, after which she turned her attention back towards the television.

"So when are the girls expected to be back tonight?" asked Rod.

"I don't know," said Tabby, "Annalee said around 10:30, but that probably means 11:00 to her."

Rod and Tabby laughed.

"Oh my god Rod, you should have seen the girls tonight," said Tabby, "I took them all to my salon to get their hair done before the party. It was amazing, they all had smiles on their faces, and were getting along with each other no probelm. It's like they suddenly turned back into grownup versions of the little girls they were before they started school."

Tabby looked into Rod's eyes.

"It's been like that for the past few weeks," said Tabby, "It feels like it's been forever since the school had called me to say that one of the girls had been suspended or cut class. They're finally letting go of their anger and starting to talk to each other about their emotions."

Tabby paused.

"The girls had so much potential Rod," said Tabby, "Annalee was able to read short Dr. Suess books to my dad when she was two years old. Two! That's almost unheard of. Have you ever seen Annemarie's drawings? They are amazing! Not only that but she can play the piano and sing like an angel. Remember when Annamae played softball for junior girl's league back in the city for a few years. Her pitching was flawless. Those girls at bat didn't even know what was coming at them."

Tabby looked towards her feet with watery eyes.

"I just wish I could have gotten them out of that environment sooner so that they could have explored their talents and lived up to that potential they had," said Tabby, "They were beautiful kind hearted girls that didn't deserve any of that shit."

Tabby turned up to Rod.

"I don't know if I ever thanked you for asking your boss to sell us this trailer when we got evicted," said Tabby, "We probably would have wound up living on the street if you didn't"

Rod's boss happened to be the owner of the Park n' Flush trailer park, and rented out the trailers to make extra money on the side. Rod was close to his boss, and managed to convince him to sell the trailer to him for $5000. Needless to say, Tabby wound up with a small, yet secure home and only had to worry about paying for utilities.

"Tib," said Rod, "I would have let you and the girls stay with me at my house before seeing you out on the street, and that's a promise."

Tabby was shocked that Rod had just inadvertently called her "Tib", a pet name he had used for her when they were dating. Rod was equally shocked that the word had subconsciously came out of his mouth. Nevertheless, Tabby continued the conversation as if nothing happened.

"Moving back here was probably the best thing I could have done for the girls." said Tabby, "I can tell you first hand that out of all of my years of school, junior high was the worst for the bullying. I was sure I would have lost them completely if we didn't make the move."

Tabby paused.

"You don't know how happy I am to finally see the girls breaking out of their shells and going out with their friends. They looked so happy tonight Rod, happier than they have been in years. Even Annalee, who hardly ever smiles, was grinning from ear to ear out of pure joy."

"I'm glad things are finally looking up for them," said Rod, "I'm sure they looked beautiful. I wish I was there to see them."

Tabby sat staring into Rod's blue eyes, an act that always seemed to mesmerize her. Tabby could not deny that she was still attracted to Rod, and she really enjoyed the conversation that they were having. It had in fact been the longest most intimate conversation they shared since their breakup. Tabby in all honesty didn't want their night to end quite yet, so she decided to make Rod an offering.

"How about you stick around until they get home?" asked Tabby as she got up off of the couch, "I'll put popcorn in the microwave and we could watch a few movies."

Tabby looked down into Rods eyes smiling. Rod returned a smile of his own.

"I would really like that Tib," said Rod.

Tabby turned around and walked out into the kitchen. She reached into the kitchen cupboard and pulled out a bag of popcorn. As she placed it into the microwave, she couldn't help but look towards the ceiling and smile.


	60. Chapter 60

**Chapter 60**

It had already been one hour since Eddy's big blowout had started, and the party was in full swing. In Double Dee's living room, several Peach Creek Junior High students, in addition to Kevin and Nazz, danced to one of Eddy's favorite 70's funk tunes, _Pick Up The Pieces_, by the Average White Band.

As the students enjoyed their time within the house, Ed and May remained outside on the back porch. It was truly a beautiful night, the sky was clear and the absence of street lights in Double Dee's yard allowed for a perfect view of the stars in the night sky. The music that seemed almost unbearably loud indoors, was insulated well by the sliding glass doors. Winter nights in the cul-de-sac were rather quiet, in contrast to the summer months when the sounds of chirping crickets and hissing cicadas filled the air.

May and Ed had been sitting in silence staring at the night sky for around 15 minutes, admiring it's beauty, as well as contemplating what exactly they would say to each other. Both boy and girl were utterly infatuated with one another but couldn't help but feel awkward in the intimate moment they were sharing. Ed had been known to be shy around girls, but no one suspected May to be introverted as well. Even though she spent months chasing Ed around and kissing him involuntarily in front of the entire school, May was a shy girl deep down inside. She was truly afraid of making a fool out of herself in front of her crush. May decided it was time to finally break the silence.

"I just love the night sky," said May, "It's so beautiful."

May turned on to her side and placed her elbow down on the lawn chair. She leaned her head on her vertically oriented hand and stared over towards Ed, who was still laying on his back.

"What do you think Ed?" asked May as she involuntarily twirled her blonde curls.

Ed paused for a second before turning his head to face May.

"Yeah, it's nice," said Ed in a dreamy voice, rather than his usual dopey voice.

As Ed stared into May's eyes, he began to feel himself blush once again. To Ed, May truly looked amazing tonight. Her blonde hair, freckles and exquisite manner of dress made her look like a beautiful southern belle.

The two eventually turned their attention back to the night sky. After around two more minutes of awkward silence, May decided to pose a question.

"So Ed?" asked May as she leaned her head towards him, "What do you and your friends do when we aren't around harassing you?"

May giggled playfully, at which point Ed smiled. He looked into May's eyes and blushed as he attempted to get the words he needed to say out of his mouth. He was forced to look away from May's captivating face and towards the star filled sky in order to from a response to her question.

"Well," said Ed, "We sure do play video games a lot, and a lot of sports too."

"Really?" asked May, "What sports do you play?"

Ed looked down at his feet and placed his hands on his abdomen, twirling his thumbs as he spoke.

"Well Eddy makes us play basketball a lot, and Kevin wanted us to join the school football team last year, but then his girlfriend thought that I had good school spirit and I became the mascot, so I never really got to play on the team. It was probably the best because I am just not really that good at sports"

Ed paused.

"Do you like to play sports May?" asked Ed.

May paused as she glanced over towards her crush, who continued to stare at the sky.

"I like sports," said May, "But the only one I'm really good at is softball."

"Oh yeah, that's like baseball right?" said Ed in an enthusiastic tone as he looked over towards May.

"Yeah, they are almost the same, but there are a lot of differences" said May, "The ball is bigger, and you pitch underhand instead of overhand. The softball diamond is a little smaller than the baseball diamond. In baseball, the pitching distance is around 60 feet. I don't know what it is for boys softball, but for girls fast pitch, its 43 feet for adults, 40 feet for girls under 18, and 35 feet for girls under 16."

Ed looked into May's eyes after she had finished. He was amazed that May knew so much about softball. Ed would be the first person to admit that he wasn't the smartest guy in the world, and he knew that May was not particularly the smartest girl either. He was impressed at her display of knowledge of the sport.

"Boy May you sure do know a lot about softball." said Ed.

May looked into Ed's eyes and blushed as she came into eye contact with him. The couple both turned their attention back to the sky as May continued speaking.

"Yeah," said May, "I played for a few years on a junior girls team for our YMCA back in the city."

May paused for a second and ran her fingers through her hair before continuing.

"I always liked playing since I was a little girl," said May, "My sisters like sports too, but they were never as into it as I was. When I was 9, my Dad asked me if I wanted to play on a team. I said yes, and he signed me up."

May paused, after which she looked towards Ed.

"I always had a hard time in school," said May, "Me and my sisters were picked on a lot for being shy, and I was picked on all of the time for my buck teeth."

Ed turned towards May and locked eyes with her, listening to her story. Ed was a naturally friendly and peace loving person and never abdicated bullying. In addition, he hated seeing those he cared about being picked on. He looked into May's blue eyes as she continued her story.

"But on the field, all of the girls were nice," said May, "Nobody ever judged anybody or acted mean. Even when we got real competitive, we always still had fun playing together. It was a great way for me to get away from all of the teasing I got from school."

May paused.

"The girls on the team were the closest thing I ever had to real friend's in my life," said May, "We all lived in different parts of the city, and went to different schools, so the only time we ever really got to see each other was during practice and during games. I consider my sisters my best friends, and we do everything together, but it would have been nice to have some of my own girl friends."

Ed smiled at May as he looked into her saddened eyes.

"Don't worry May," said Ed, "You've got a friend in Ed!"

May smiled and blushed at Ed's sweet words. She was extremely flattered and excited that Ed was finally considering her a friend. Although becoming a close friend to Ed made May the happiest girl in the world, deep down inside she still longed for more. She was hoping that eventually Ed would be willing to put the word "girl" in front of friend.

The couple sat in silence for a few seconds before Ed chimed in.

"So what position did you play?" asked a curious Ed with a smile on his face.

"I started out on first base," said May, "But then the coach said she saw potential in me to be a great pitcher. She did a whole bunch of drills with me to teach me how pitch, and then she started letting me pitch at games. After my first game, I was pitcher for the rest of my time with the team until we moved here."

"I like the way they spin their arms around when they throw the ball!" said Ed in a goofy voice.

"That's called a windmill pitch," said May as she smiled.

Ed giggled.

"I tried to do it outside when I would play catch with my dad and Sarah, but the ball would always wind up behind me or somewhere where I didn't want it to be." said Ed.

May giggled.

"Don't worry," said May, "It takes practice, it took me awhile to perfect it. It's actually really easy if you learn the right way to do it."

May paused and thought about things for a minute. She saw the perfect opportunity for her to spend more time with Ed.

"If you want, we can get together sometime and I can teach you," said May as she looked down towards her feet and blushed.

Ed smiled at May's invitation to join her for a softball lesson. After a few seconds of thinking, Ed had an idea. They didn't have to wait for another time to begin their lessons.

"Wait we do not have to wait May, for I have an idea!" yelled Ed enthusiastically as he stood up off of his lawn chair.

Ed grabbed May's hand, causing her to blush and helped her stand up. He led her down the three wooden stairs from Double Dee's deck and across the dark yard to Double Dee's shed. The shed was a small wood structure with a sloping roof and Forest green trim surrounding the border of the doors. Ed took his hand away from May's and used both of his hands to quickly swing both doors open.

Ed entered the shed and reached towards the ceiling, searching for the pull string to power the single light bulb inside. After a few seconds, he finally felt the cold metal chain. With a quick tug and click, the shed was illuminated.

May watched as her crush began searching through Double Dees belongings. Even though she was surrounded by the comfort of Ed's jacket, the cold wind managed to sting her bare legs as well as cause her blonde curls to intermittently wave.

Double Dee's shed was filled with many things, including many of his father's tools as well as the manual powered lawn mower that Double Dee loathed. In addition, the shed also contained a few shovels and rakes, one of which was still taped to a hockey stick from when the Ed's had fabricated stilts to attempt to keep up with the kids quickly changing fads the previous summer. The makeshift stilts were not the only thing left from that day; the old mailboxes they had used as part of their "fad freaker" getup remained in the place they had left them.

After a few minutes of searching, Ed had finally found what he had been looking for.

"Found it!" yelled Ed happily.

May watched as Ed yanked a large green bag out of the shed. The bag contained various baseball bats and gloves, in addition to a few baseballs and softballs.

"You can teach me now," said Ed as he dropped the bag on the ground. "I don't know how to tell what is a baseball or softball, so you can do the honors."

May smiled as she began going through the bag.

"Okay Ed," said May, "But don't think that I'm gonna go easy on you just because you look insanely handsome tonight!"

May giggled at her joke causing Ed to blush, smile and look towards the ground. May eventually managed to find a pair of gloves, as well as a yellow softball.

"Okay," said May as she tossed a glove to Ed, "Put this on and go stand over by the gate."

"Okie Dokie!" yelled Ed as he put on his glove and ran across the yard towards the gate, leaning backward as he always did while he ran. Ed reached the gate and turned around.

"Okay, now what!" yelled Ed.

"Okay, first I'm gonna pitch to you like I was pitching in a game to show you what it looks like." yelled May, "All's you need to do is catch the ball okay?"

"Okay!" yelled Ed with a smile on his face.

May took off Ed's large jacket and hung it on one of the open doors to Double Dee's shed. She placed the brown glove on her left hand, and took hold of the soft ball with her right hand. She took a pitchers stance as she stared at Ed's position, justifying her distance as well as her aim. May looked quite professional, as she stood with her right hand in her left glove, preparing mentally for her pitch.

Just then, May began her pitch. Within the course of a second, May leaned forward slightly while drawing her right arm behind her back. She stepped forward with her left foot rather aggressively as he right arm began to swing downward past her hips. As she planted her left foot on the ground, her arm had finally passed over her head. After a quick descent, May released the ball as her arm passed her hips for the second time.

The ball was now traveling towards an intimidated Ed at high velocity. If there was a speedometer the pitch would have clocked in the neighborhood of 64 miles per hour. In the milliseconds that Ed had to react, he did the only thing he could do; duck out of the way. The ball of course, bypassed the intended target, Ed's glove, and smashed into the wooden fence, causing a loud crash.

Ed turned around to observe the fence. The wood had splintered slightly from the impact, although it wasn't broken.

"Ed, you were supposed to catch it silly!" said May playfully.

"I couldn't May," said Ed as he threw the ball back across the yard to May, who caught it in her glove, "It was too fast!"

May looked at Ed as she smiled.

"You can do it," said May, "Close your eyes and hold your glove out in front of you."

Ed stared at May with quite fearful expression.

"Trust me," said May with a smile on her face, "Just hold out your glove in front of your chest and close your eyes. I'll put the ball where it needs to be."

Ed reluctantly held his brown glove out in front of him while shaking out of nervousness. After spending a few seconds adjusting himself, Ed was finally able to close his eyes. He could only hope that May's aim was as true as she claimed it to be.

May studied Ed's position for a few seconds. She closed her left eye, and licked her lips, an action she always performed whenever she was in the process of aiming. After a few adjustments of her position, May once again fast pitched the ball to Ed.

Ed was quite surprised that the ball did not hit him in the head or anywhere else on his body for that matter. After feeling the ball make contact with his glove, he opened his eyes to make sure that it was really in there. May smiled as Ed pulled the ball out of his glove with his right hand.

"Boy May, you sure are good at pitching," said Ed as he smiled at May.

"Thank you Ed," said May softly while she blushed.

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, after which May began walking over towards Ed.

"Alright Bub," said May playfully as she was beginning to feel more confident around Ed, "Now it's time to teach you!"

May spent the next ten minutes drilling Ed on fast pitch softball. Ed was quite slow to get the hang of the motions, but with persistence, he was able to achieve a rather uniform pitch, although it was nowhere near as fast as May's.

After Ed's lesson in windmill pitching, Ed and May decided to have a gentle catch while conversing. May and Ed tossed the ball back and forth to each other a few times, before May decided to pose another question.

"So what else do you like to do Ed?" asked May as she smiled.

Ed caught the ball in his glove and hesitated for a few seconds before throwing it back to May. He often had trouble performing actions and speaking at the same time.

"Uhh….I like reading comic books and watching monster movies," said Ed.

"Really?" asked May, "I like some comic books too and I love monster movies, especially older ones!"

"Cool," yelled Ed as he smiled, "What comic books do you read?"

May caught the ball and threw it back to Ed before continuing.

"I haven't read any in while," said May

May paused.

"But the last one I read was the first book in The Curse of Evil Tim series," said May.

Ed's eyes lit up.

"I LOVE EVIL TIM!" yelled Ed.

"So do I!" yelled May back.

"It's funny," said Ed, "Last summer I actually tried to get all of the things that were needed to summon Evil Tim. I only got halfway through the book though, so I didn't know what to do next."

May smiled at Ed who was laughing dopily and walked over towards him.

"Me too!" said May, "But I had to do it secretly, or Lee and Marie would have spoiled all of the fun."

"How many commands did you satisfy?" asked Ed. He was now in full "comic book geek" mode, and was much more confident around May now that the conversation had led to a topic he was comfortable with.

"I couldn't get anything, except the hoard of wishbones. I collected them for months after every chicken dinner at my Dads house" said May.

"The hoard of wishbones?" asked Ed.

"Yeah," said May, "They were the last thing after the sacrifice! The book said that they stop Evil Tim's crow henchmen from coming. The wishbones make the crows think that you are an expert at killing birds, and scare them away."

"Awww man," said Ed as he kicked his foot in the dirt, "I was so close, I knew I should have read the next page. I did everything up to the sacrifice."

Even though Ed had once thought his comic book was real, he had matured slightly over the winter and realized that his "Evil Tim" ceremony was just all in good fun. He and May shared a laugh at their idiosyncrasies for a few seconds.

After their laugh, the boy and girl stood close to each other under the moon light in silence. May stared down at her feet blushing while Ed rubbed the back of his head with his right hand.

"I guess we really do have a lot in common," said May as she looked up into Ed's eyes blushing.

"Yeah," said Ed, with a nervous look on his face as he blushed.

May swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Listen Ed," said May, "I…really….liked…um spending time with you tonight."

May began twirling her hair once again with her right index finger.

"I really like you Ed," said May, "I know that we didn't get along in the past and I sure did do a lot of mean things to you, but after talking with you over the last couple of days, it's like we have so much in common."

May looked up into Ed's eyes. Ed was staring down at May blushing heavily with a nervous look on his face.

"I guess what I'm um…trying to ask you….is…um..if…you…wanted to be more than just frie…."

Before May could get her words out, Ed placed his hands on her shoulders.

"I can hold it in no longer!" yelled Ed in his usual dopey voice, although there was a strong trace of seriousness in it for once.

May stared into Ed's eyes with surprise as he continued speaking his mind.

"Over the last few days I've been getting this funny feeling in my tummy whenever you were around. And now every time I look at your face, I not only get that funny tummy feeling. I also get this warm feeling in my cheeks."

Ed looked down into May's blue eyes, which were staring back up at him. He couldn't help but be enamored by her beauty.

"Even now as I stare down into those beautiful blue gems that are your eyes, I am getting this feeling that I should do something that I really want to do, but I don't know if I should do i, but I really want to do it, but I don't know if it was the right thing to….."

Ed's long winded and almost nonsensical ranting suddenly came to a complete halt. He stared down into May's blue eyes, after which he raised his hand and stroked her hair, causing May to smile. Ed could not hold back any longer.

"I'm gonna do it!" yelled Ed.

Just then, Ed leaned his face down and touched his lips to May's. At the moment their lips touched, May was in heaven. Without even realizing she was doing so, May wrapped her arms around Ed's neck as they shared their first kiss under the moonlight. Ed returned the favor by placing his hands on May's hips and pulling her closer to him. Due to the rather large height difference, May was forced to stand on her tip toes in order to maintain contact with Ed's lips.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ed finally pulled away from May gently. The two waited to open their eyes upon pulling away for a few seconds, after which they stared into each other's eyes, blushing heavily once again. After a few seconds, Ed chimed in.

"Um, May?" asked Ed in a child-like voice, "Does this mean that you are my girlfriend now?"

May was so ecstatic about receiving a voluntary kiss from Ed that she had almost not realized what Ed had said.

"Well," said May rather shyly, "If you want me to be your girlfriend I will be."

Ed paused for a second.

"Okay!" said Ed rather dopily.

May looked up into Ed's eyes.

"Oh Ed!" yelled May as she ran into Ed, burying her face in his chest. She wrapped her arms around his body in a tight squeeze. For the first time, Ed didn't hesitate to reciprocate. He slowly but surely wrapped his arms around the much smaller May, smiling the whole time he did so.

While still holding on to her new boyfriend, May looked up into his eyes.

"Ed, you made me the happiest girl in the world right now!" said May as she smiled.

Ed looked down into his beautiful girlfriends eyes. Ed, even though shy around girls no longer needed any help from movies for sweet lines. He decided to come up with a completely original reply.

"No May," said Ed, "I am the happiest guy in the world to be standing here with May Kanker in my arms."

It wasn't the most original statement, and Ed did feel slightly awkward. He was not used to being the romantic type, and it was slightly uncharacteristic of him to utter a phrase as he just did.

"Ed, you are just one big ball of sweetness!" yelled May

After a quick glance up into her new boyfriends blue eyes, May tip toed once again and touched her lips to Ed's. The couple spent the next few minutes sharing their first passionate kiss as a couple in the middle of Double Dee's yard, bathed in moonlight under the beautiful, starry sky.


	61. Chapter 61

**Chapter 61**

After sharing a beautiful moment out in Double Dee's yard, Ed and May had decided it was finally time to return to the party as a couple. Ed opened the sliding glass door and allowed May to enter before him. The couple walked through the kitchen holding hands as "In Too Deep" by Sum 41 played over the stereo system, and eventually found themselves back in the living room. The new couple took a seat on the couch and began conversing.

"I wonder where my sisters are?" asked May, "I can't wait to tell them the good news!"

"Oh boy!" yelled Ed, "I can't wait to tell Eddy and Double Dee either. They will be so proud!"

"I guess we'll just have to hold out for a little longer!" said May as she smiled into Ed's eyes.

As the new couple conversed happily on Double Dee's couch, Eddy and Lee were sharing laughs in Mr. Svenski's den. Eddy was currently telling the story of how he first discovered Double Dee's relationship on Valentines Night, including the infamous "Maryanne" that Double Dee had used as a cover up.

"Maryanne huh?" said Lee with a grin on her face.

"Yeah," said Eddy as he took a small sip of his Pepsi, "I don't know where he got that from, but he had us fooled at first."

"I know where he got it from," said Lee as she glared over at Eddy with a grin.

"Oh yeah," said Eddy with a sly grin himself as he placed his soda down on the coffee table. He leaned backwards towards the armrest, resting his left arm on the top of the couch, "Let's hear it."

"It's just Marie's full name changed up a little bit," said Lee.

Double Dee had come up with the name "Maryanne" as a slightly modified transposition of Annemarie. In just a few seconds, Lee's clever mind was able to make the connection.

"Her full name?" asked Eddy.

"Yeah," said Lee, "Just take me and my sister's names and put an Anna in front of them, and you have our full names."

"Really?" asked Eddy, "Annalee, Annamarie, and Annamae."

"Marie's is a little different," said Lee, "She's the oddball out of us. She is just Anne. For some reason, her name just doesn't sound right with that extra syllable."

Lee took a sip of her soda and placed the cup on the coffee table.

"Any way, think about it," said Lee as she looked towards Eddy, leaning toward him slightly, "Annemarie, Maryanne. See the connection yet?"

Eddy thought for a second before smiling and sharing a chuckle with Lee at that realization. The teenagers sat in silence for a few moments before Lee chimed in with a question.

"So while we're on the topic," said Lee, "Ya got a middle name."

Eddy froze at Lee's question. He hated his middle name with a passion, and had tried his hardest to keep it to himself. He was extremely surprised that Lee had not discovered it yet, as she was usually on top of things like that.

After bouncing ideas around in his head, Eddy realized that he really had nothing to lose by revealing his middle name. He decided that it was best to tell Lee, although he was extremely embarrassed while doing so.

"I do," said Eddy.

Lee looked towards Eddy, cocking her head as if waiting for an answer.

"Well," said Lee, "Are ya gonna tell me what it is?"

Eddy stared at Lee for a few more seconds, after which he looked away from her towards his feet. He planted both of his feet on the floor and folded his hands on his lap.

"Skipper," whispered Eddy. His word was barely audible.

"What was that?" asked Lee as she leaned towards Eddy in an attempt to hear him.

"Skipper," said Eddy, slightly louder but still mumbling.

"Geez Louis," said Lee, "If it's that bad that you have to mumble it you don't have to tell me."

"It's Skipper okay!" yelled Eddy as he looked over towards Lee. Eddy resumed looking back towards his feet as Lee grinned and chuckled slightly.

"Skipper huh?" said Lee as she snickered.

"Yeah, Skipper" said an embarrassed Eddy.

Lee laughed rather heavily as she continued staring at Eddy.

"Yeah, go ahead laugh," said Eddy, "I would be laughing too. I hate my stupid middle name!"

Lee calmed down slightly.

"Oh come on shrimp, lighten up," said Lee, "And besides it's not that bad."

Lee took a sip of her soda before continuing.

"It's kinda funny," said Lee, "My grand pop used to take us fishing out on the ocean when we were little, and his nickname for me on the boat was 'Little Skipper.'"

Lee chuckled for a few seconds, after which Eddy returned to looking her in the eyes.

"Really," said Eddy, "What did ya skip around the boat all the time or something?"

"No, you idiot," said Lee, "Skipper is a nickname for the captain of a ship!"

"Well excuse me Einstein!" said Eddy

There was a pause after which Eddy decided to reciprocate Lee's question.

"You got a middle name?" asked Eddy, after which he sipped his soda.

"Yep," said Lee, "It's Grace."

"Annalee Grace Kanker," said Eddy, "It's got a ring to it. At least you got a normal middle name."

The couple shared laughs with each other after which there was yet another moment of silence. Eddy decided to finally ask a question he had been dying to know the answer to.

"So," said Eddy as he looked at Lee, "What exactly made you want to try to break Double Dee and Marie up when you first heard about them? I would have thought that you and May would have loved the fact that Marie finally hooked up with him."

Lee paused as she looked towards her feet, after which she leaned backwards on the couch and crossed her legs. Eddy couldn't help but admire Lee's long legs, which were shown off by her jeans and black high heeled boots.

"Well," said Lee, "I have to admit, I might have got a little jealous of Marie too."

Eddy's eyes widened.

"See," said Lee, "All throughout my life, I never felt beautiful or girlish, especially after I cut my hair and stopped caring about my appearance. When I found out that Marie was with Double Dee, it was like she had everything that I really wanted. She found someone that thought she was beautiful, and really loved her for who she was. I guess I was jealous because deep down inside, I would die to have a guy notice me."

Lee turned towards Eddy, looking directly into his eyes with a saddened expression on her face. As Eddy gazed back into her glistening blue eyes, he began to feel as if he was falling into a trance.

"I notice you Lee," said Eddy in a dream-like voice as he leaned towards Lee, "And I think you look beautiful tonight."

Eddy smiled into Lee's gorgeous face. Lee blushed as she looked into Eddy's eyes and smiled herself.

"Thanks Eddy," said Lee calmly as she twirled her red curls, "I think you look handsome tonight too."

Eddy blushed himself as he stared into Lee's eyes for a few more seconds. It didn't take long for the teenagers to realize what was happening and break themselves out of their trance. Eddy and Lee suddenly turned away from each other, looking towards the opposite wall while blushing heavily.

The couple spent the next few minutes recovering from their awkward moment. Both teenagers were in denial of the emotional feelings they had for each other. After a few minutes of silence, Lee decided it was time for her to ask a question of her own.

"So little man," asked Lee, "I'm just curious. What exactly made ya become the lying, cheating, backstabbing, manipulating con-artist you were before last summer?"

Eddy took a sip of his soda.

"It's a long story," said Eddy.

"Well, let's hear it!" said Lee as she smiled at Eddy and folded her hands on her thighs.

Eddy had never discussed the underlying reasons for his antisocial behavior with anyone except for his best friends; and even though he trusted Ed and Double Dee fully and viewed them as brothers, he could never bring himself to reveal all of the details of his turbulent childhood.

Eddy looked deeply into Lee's eyes. Her face was not adorned with the usual sly grin he had been accustomed to seeing; it was replaced by a delicate smile. As Eddy looked into Lee's sparkling blue eyes, he saw something that he never saw before, compassion. Something about Lee's eyes told him that he could trust her with all of his heart, and that she was a helpful and caring person deep down inside. Eddy decided that it was finally time to get many of his demons off of his chest.

"It's funny," said Eddy, "You would think that having an older brother would be the greatest thing in the world. I always imagined a big brother as someone I could look up to, someone who I wanted to be just like, and someone who would be able to help me whenever I had a problem."

Eddy paused.

"In reality, having an older brother was my worst nightmare."

Eddy took a sip of his soda as Lee watched him intently, curious to hear more of Eddy's story.

"You were there last summer at his trailer in the amusement park," said Eddy as he looked into Lee's eyes, "Do you remember when he grabbed me and start twisting my ankles, trying to make me say uncle?"

"Yeah," said Lee, "You don't know how pissed I was when he started slamming your head against the side of his door. May and Marie had to hold me back with everything they had. I was gonna walk over and kick him right in the balls for doin that to ya!"

Eddy shared a small giggle with Lee, who realized that she was letting her anger get the best of her as she relived that situation. After a moment, the laughter died down and seriousness returned at which point Eddy continued his story.

"That was one of his favorite things to do with me when my parents weren't home." said Eddy, "He is 12 years older than me, so he was already in his teens by the time I was 4 years old. While my parents would go out, enjoying themselves for the night, I was stuck home with him as my babysitter."

Eddy paused and looked into Lee's eyes.

"And if you thought his version of 'uncle' was bad," said Eddy, "You don't even want to know some of the other things he did to me."

Lee looked into Eddy's eyes and for the first time saw what appeared to be helplessness. The proud, confident, joking Eddy that she had been accustomed to had vanished, replaced by a serious, emotional counterpart.

"I can remember it like the back of my hand," said Eddy, "I was five years old. I was sitting in the living room watching _Jimmy Neutron_ when I heard my mom walk into Mike's room to remind him that they were going out of town for the whole weekend for my aunt's wedding up in Connecticut."

Eddy turned to Lee with watery eyes.

"When I heard that, I was so scared Lee." said Eddy, "I was going to have to survive a whole weekend of ankle twists, submission holds and other forms of torture. I didn't know if I could do it. I can remember yelling to my mom, begging for her not to go and to stay home with me."

Eddy caught his breath.

"Mike was very manipulative," said Eddy, "He was really good at making it look like my pleas were caused by me missing my mom when she was gone. It worked out for him every single time."

Eddy looked up at Lee.

"Before I knew it, I was watching my dad's car pull out of the driveway from the window."

Eddy took a sip of his soda and wiped his eyes.

"I don't remember much of what happened next," said Eddy, "But I do remember Mike getting on the phone and calling a bunch of his friends over to the house to party. Before I knew it, he threw me in my room and told me not to come out for the rest of the night."

Eddy paused.

"After a while, I had to go to the bathroom real bad." said Eddy, "Even though he told me not to leave the room, I couldn't hold it any longer. I opened the door to my room and began walking down the hallway to the bathroom."

Eddy turned away from Lee, attempting to hide tears that were forming. After he was sure he regained his composure, he turned back towards the red headed girl.

"Just as I was about to make it to the bathroom, he caught me." said Eddy, "I can remember the exact words that he said to me while he grabbed my arm."

"_Yo pipsqueak, I thought I told ya not to leave that room for the rest of the night!_"

"I tried to tell him that I was just using the bathroom, but he wouldn't have it," said Eddy, "He pulled me real close to his face. As he spoke, I smelled what I now know is the smell of alcohol on his breath. He told me that he 'has just the punishment for little boys that don't want to listen to their big brothers.' The next thing I knew, he picked me up over his shoulder, and started carrying me to the door. He asked one of his friends to follow us outside. When we got outside, I watched his friend click a button on his key ring to open his trunk."

Eddy swallowed, while holding back tears.

"He picked me up by my shoulders and told me that it was time for me to learn my lesson." said Eddy, "He threw me into the trunk, and started laughing with his friend. I tried to jump out, but he just pushed me back in every time. Eventually, he closed the trunk, and I was locked away in that small space for the rest of the night."

"Eddy," said Lee softly as she placed her hand over her mouth, "He was a monster"

"I was so scared Lee," said Eddy, "It was horrible, all's I could do was yell as loud as I could, hoping that someone could hear me. I can remember yelling for my mom while pounding on the door to the trunk. I felt so helpless. On top of that, I wound up wetting myself, because I never was able to use the bathroom."

Lee was surprised that Eddy trusted her enough to tell her as much as he did. Even though she did not want to overstep her boundaries, she decided to pursue the topic.

"How long was it before he let you out?" asked Lee in a gentle voice as she moved closer to Eddy on the couch.

"I don't know," said Eddy, "But it felt like forever."

Eddy paused and looked into Lee's eyes.

"That was the worst thing that he ever did to me," said Eddy, "It continued all the way up until I was 7, when my parent kicked him out. Apparently, the idiot wound up getting arrested for dealing pills and cocaine, and my parents were pissed. He was forced to live with one of his friends until he could find a house or something for himself. The son of a bitch was lucky cause when he went to court the judge made him an offer. He had two choices, find a steady job, or face prison time. He also had to do a certain amount of community service no matter which path he took. He took the obvious route, and got the job running the rides at "Mondo A Go-Go".

"I guess that felt like a big relief when he moved out," said Lee as she touched her hand to Eddy's shoulder. Eddy looked down towards his feet with a melancholy stare.

At this point tears were streaming down Eddy's face. As much as he tried to hide them, his efforts were futile. Lee moved even closer to Eddy on the couch and put her hand on his shoulder, after which she leaned down into his face.

"It was all I knew," said Eddy, "Even though my brother was a freakin asshole, for some reason I still looked up to him and used him as my main role model. He was a lying cheapskate, and constantly stole money from other kids, including me and my friends. I guess that's where I got the idea that I could scam kids out of their money."

Eddy paused.

"After seeing how great of friends I really did have that day we went to the amusement park, I finally realized that Mike was not my hero in life. In fact, he is everything that I don't want to be."

Eddy sat silent, with tears streaming down his eyes slowly. Lee leaned down into his face with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay Eddy?" asked Lee.

"Yeah," said Eddy, "I'm fine."

As Lee and Eddy sat in silence, Lee thought about all of the things that Eddy had just told her. She couldn't believe that the proud and relatively emotionless Eddy McGee had just poured his heart out to her of all people.

After sitting in silence for around fifteen minutes, Eddy regained his composure and decided to pose a question of his own in a playful manner.

"So," said Eddy with a smile, "What's your story, what made you become that diabolical, conniving bitch that you have been since I met you."

Lee chuckled with Eddy at his statement, after which she donned a serious facial expression.

"Well," said Lee as she looked down, "I can tell you one thing. I would rather be beat everyday in my life than go through what I had to go through growing up."

"Geez," said Eddy, "What can be worse than being beat?"

Lee looked into Eddy's face with watery eyes.

"My mom and dad broke up when I was 5 years old." said Lee, "They were really in love with each other and were going to get married, but things didn't quite work out. After they broke up, my mom went into an emotional shell and she started dating some interesting guys."

Lee paused and looked into Eddy's eyes.

"One particular guy that she dated off and on for a good four years was named Dennis." said Lee, "Thinking back on it, things were weird from the start. I can remember him always looking at me, watching me while I was playing with my dolls with Marie. He always had this weird creepy grin on his face."

Lee's eyes began to water. As she found herself beginning to choke on her words, she gazed over towards Eddy's brown eyes, which were staring back at her with concern. No one in the word knew about her deepest darkest secret except for her family. Eddy had obviously trusted her enough to pour his heart out to her; she knew that she could trust Eddy enough to do the same.

"He always wanted to play with me for some reason," said Lee, "He never even bothered with Marie or May. He used to always say things like how pretty my hair is and other compliments. It was after he actually moved in with my mom when things started getting really weird. My mom worked as a caterer, and the parties she worked on would often be at night, during which time it was whoever was watching us' responsibility to put us to bed."

Lee paused as she looked towards the floor.

"It was a normal night, like any other," said Lee, "I climbed into my bed, and snuggled with my bear, waiting to drift off to sleep. After a while, I heard the door to my bedroom door begin creaking open."

At this point, Eddy was beginning to catch on to the direction in which Lee's story was headed. He watched speechless as the once domineering red headed Kanker girl discharged her emotions with a command of language that Eddy had never known she possessed.

"I turned around and saw Dennis standing in the doorway," said Lee, "Eventually, he began walking over towards the bed, and sat down on the edge. He asked me if there was room for one more."

At this point, Lee was fighting tears. As she continued telling her story, the tears she was fighting managed to escape. They drizzled down her face, smearing her black eyeliner once again. Eddy watched helplessly as his former arch nemesis released emotions that had been bottled up inside her for several years.

"He climbed into the bed, and…got ….under the covers," said Lee, "He told me that I was a big girl, and that big girls have to start doing things that adults do."

At this point, tears were flowing down Lee's face profusely.

"He kept saying, 'you're okay, you're okay, you're okay' as he took my hand and he started…leading…..it ….down….."

Lee was choking on her words. She couldn't bring herself to finish speaking of her first moment of abuse. She regained her composure and continued.

"After that night," said Lee while sobbing, "He began coming in every other night up until I was ten years old. He said that if I didn't do things for him, or if I told anyone about our 'fun filled sleepovers' he was going to start getting Marie and May."

Lee paused.

"I couldn't let that happen to them. I just couldn't, I had to protect them!" said Lee, "So I took it. I took it every other night for five long years."

Lee could no longer control her emotions and broke down. She buried her face in her hands as she uncrossed her legs and leaned forward, sobbing rather loudly.

"Lee?" asked Eddy in a gentle voice as he moved closer to her.

"I was a normal little girl!" yelled Lee angrily as she pulled her face away from her hands, "He took me and turned me into a dirty fucking whore!"

Lee pounded her knees with her fists after which she covered her eyes with her hands once again. Eddy had previously thought that nothing was worse than being beat; within fifteen minutes, he was proven wrong.

"He confused me Eddy!" said Lee as she looked into Eddy's eyes in tears, "Ever since then, I've been going around chasing boys giving them quickies like a low down scum bag. And now I'm nothing but a used up piece of trash. What kind of guy is ever gonna want me? Look at me I'm dirty trailer park scum!"

Lee buried her face in her hands once again and began sobbing loudly. Eddy was completely heartbroken seeing Lee releasing her emotions out to him. He had never stopped to think that Lee had had such a horrible experience during her childhood. He had always just assumed that she was a girl with an evil heart bent on making everybody's lives around her miserable.

"Lee," said Eddy as he moved closer to her, "It's okay,"

Lee continued sobbing into her hands. Eddy was shy when it came to comforting anyone with emotional problems, but he knew what he had to do. He shifted over towards Lee until he was directly next to her, at which point he placed his arm around her shoulder.

Lee wasted no time and turned towards Eddy, burying her face into his chest. Eddy felt the moisture from Lee's tears permeating his shirt and knew that her black eyeliner would surely stain it. Eddy simply did not care and wrapped his arms around Lee, comforting the very girl that he once looked upon as an arch enemy.

Eddy held Lee in his arms for around five minutes, after which she calmed down slightly. Eddy himself was quite saddened by Lee's story and felt extremely sorry for the mental trauma she had to endure.

"I guess now you just think of me as a slut after what I told you," said Lee as she sobbed slightly.

Eddy looked down into Lee's eyes.

"Lee, you didn't ask for any of that to happen to you." said Eddy as he ran his fingers through Lee's red curls without even realizing it, "I can't blame ya for any of that shit. He was the low down scumbag not you."

Lee smiled up at Eddy, after which she leaned her head on his shoulder. The two teenagers sat in silence with smiles on their faces for around fifteen minutes, after which Eddy chimed in.

"Listen," said Eddy, "Some crazy stuff happened tonight, but what I really liked seeing this side of you Lee. The real you seems like a really sweet girl, I just wished you would have showed me her earlier."

Lee smiled up into Eddy's eyes, with small residual tears falling from hers. Eddy, although not realizing what he was doing, began moving his face towards Lee's

"Yeah," said Lee, "It's been a crazy night, but I have to say that it was nice seeing the sweet, soft side of my little shrimp too."

Lee took notice that Eddy's face was moving towards her and angling to the right. Lee responded by slowly moving her face up towards Eddy's while angling hers to the right.

"As much as I hate to admit it," said Eddy still in a dreamlike voice, "I kinda like you."

At this point Eddy's lips were mere millimeters away from Lee's.

"As much as_ I_ hate to admit it," said Lee, "I kinda like you too."

At the conclusion of that statement, Lee bridged the gap between her and Eddy's lips. Eddy and Lee found themselves locked in a gentle passionate kiss on the couch in Double Dee's den. Lee wrapped her arms around Eddy's neck, as Eddy placed his hands on her waist, pulling her closer to him. Although neither Eddy nor Lee had expected this moment to ever occur, both teenagers felt like a million bucks as they became lost in the passionate kiss they were sharing.


	62. Chapter 62

**Chapter 62**

Back in the Park n' Flush trailer park, Tabby had finally taken the popcorn out of the microwave and placed it in a large, red plastic bowl. She carried the bowl out into the living room and placed it on the coffee table, after which she retook her place on the couch next to Rod. Tabby was sure to leave the full space of the middle cushion between her and her ex-boyfriend to avoid awkward tensions.

The two adults sat in silence for around ten minutes, still watching _The Notebook_ until it was time for a commercial break. Tabby saw the break as an opportunity to make friendly conversation with Rod.

"Have you heard from Chris recently?" asked Tabby.

"No," said Rod, "Sadly I haven't. The last I heard from him was a few months ago, before he went back overseas."

"That's a shame," said Tabby as she took placed a handful of popcorn in her mouth, "You guys were so close, and he was your best friend since you guys were in kindergarten."

"Yeah," said Rod, "It would be nice to see him again. I haven't seen him or his family since they came to Annemarie's second birthday."

Tabby paused as she watched Rod take a handful of popcorn and place it into his mouth. Tabby decided to pursue the topic with another question

"I know you told me before that you two always played army men and talked about going into the military when you were little, but did you always want to be a Marine?" asked Tabby.

Rod took a sip of his soda and coughed, after which he looked over towards Tabby.

"No, not really," said Rod with a smile on his face, "We just always talked about joining the military when we were really little. It wasn't until we were in high school that we started becoming specifically interested in the marines. We did some reading, and we were both fascinated by the hand-to-hand combat. I had always wanted to do karate when I was a kid, but I never got around to doing it. I also really liked that physical portion of it, and liked that it would give me a chance to get in shape. Chris fell in love with the program too, and when we graduated from high school we enlisted together."

Rod paused.

"We went through basic training together, but we were separated when it was time for us to be stationed. Chris got stationed in Oslo, Norway, while I got stationed in Hawaii. We sort of lost touch after that, as we were placed on leave during different times."

Rod grabbed more popcorn and sipped his soda before continuing his story.

"It was 1999 when I finished my service," said Rod, "Although I was discharged and ready to begin my life as a veteran, Chris decided to make a career out of the Marines. I was proud of him for following his dream and wished him luck. We were able to see each other every once and a while for a few years after that. Then 9/11 happened, and of course he along with many other troops were deployed over to fight. Ever since then I haven't seen or heard much from him."

"Isn't he an officer now?" asked Tabby.

"Yeah," said Rod, "He switched over to bomb disposal. He has to be the craziest son-of-a-bitch alive to want to do a job like that. I just hope that he comes home safe."

"Me too," said Tabby.

At this point the commercials have ended and _The Notebook _was once again gracing the Kanker's small floor console television's screen. Tabby began to feel a craving coming along and pulled out her pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

"Do you mind?" asked Tabby as she held the cigarette as if asking Rod if it was okay if she smoked in front of him.

"No, of course not it's your trailer Tab," said Rod, after which he smiled, "Although I did wish that you would quit."

Rod grinned at Tabby after which she smiled back at him.

"I really want to quit," said Tabby as she began putting her lighter and her cigarette away, "But it's just so hard of a habit to break, even though it really is a bad one."

In the seconds that followed, Tabby's cravings got the best of her, forcing her to attempt to light up once again.

"Case in point," said Tabby jokingly as she used her lighter to ignite her cigarette. She took a draw of her cigarette, causing the tip to glow with an orange hue, after which she blew the exhaust in the opposite direction of Rod. She looked towards Rod with a smile, which he returned.

"I didn't think it would be that easy for you," said Rod after which he snickered, "It took me until Annamae was 6 years old to give up those cancer sticks. Glad I did, cause it saved me a ton of money."

Rod and Tabby giggled.

"I gotta agree with that," said Tabby as she smiled, "That's definitely an incentive to quit."

Rod and Tabby sat in silence as they watched their movie for a few minutes, after which Tabby once again interjected.

"So Rod," asked Tabby, "Did the girls ever tell you the story of how Annemarie and Double Dee met?"

"Yes and no," said Rod as he smiled, "They told me a few different stories on the way to the ice rink on Tuesday that didn't seem to line up. It was mostly Annalee and Annamae talking, so I assume they were just trying to embarrass Annemarie. I'm almost certain I didn't hear the real story."

Tabby and Rod shared a laugh.

"Why," said Rod, "Did you hear the real story?"

"As a matter of fact I did," said Tabby as she looked towards Rod. She took another puff of her cigarette before she continued speaking, "And it's actually quite interesting."

Tabby grinned into Rods blue eyes.

"Let's just say it explains why the old maroon shower curtain was suddenly missing, how my purple bed sheets mysteriously got ripped, and why your weed whacker wound up hidden under the trailer clogged up with water." said Tabby.

"Go on," said Rod with a smile on his face.

Tabby told Rod the entire story about how his daughters first met the three Ed's of the cul-de-sac. She told how the girls chased after them with girl-hood crushes, torturing them all along the way, and of their behavior towards the other kids in the cul-de-sac and how their intimidating methods caused the entire neighborhood to scatter upon the mere sight of the three girls. She told Rod of the girls adventures chasing the Ed's down the creek on a makeshift boat, using her bed sheets as a sail, and Rod's weed whacker as a motor. She of course, ended the story with the mock Ed-Kanker wedding in the basement of her old house.

"Jesus," said Rod jokingly as he smiled, "I would have ran like hell too if were the Ed's. I wonder what was going through the girls heads when they were torturing those poor guys."

"I don't know Rod," said Tabby jokingly as she puffed her cigarette, "I just don't know."

Tabby and Rod shared a laugh at the girl's wild displays of affections towards the Eds.

"Our girls are growing up Tab," said Rod as he looked at Tabby, "I can't believe they are already old enough to start liking boys."

"Yeah, I know," said Tabby, "It sure did happen pretty quick."

The two adults shared a moment of silence as they became immersed in their movie for another five minutes. As Tabby watched the movie, Rod happened to glance around the trailer taking notice of all of the knick knacks that once belonged to Mr. Kanker hanging around the room. It didn't take long for him to set his eyes on the giant swordfish that he and Mr. Kanker had caught a few years back.

"Big Chester is still hangin in there huh?" asked Rod jokingly as he pointed towards the large swordfish.

"Yep," said Tabby, "What has it been, ten years now?"

"I don't think it is ten quite yet," said Rod, "Annamae was only 2, and we were still togeth….."

Rod once again caught himself mentioning he and Tabby's relationship. He quickly shook off his feelings and bought time for himself by eating a handful of popcorn kernels and sipping his Pepsi.

"Yeah," said Rod, "I can remember it was the summer of 2001. Annemarie had just turned 3, and it was the weekend after her party."

"It sucks that I didn't go with you guys on that one," said Tabby, "I would have loved watching you two tough military men struggling to catch a single damn fish!"

Tabby laughed at her own joke rather loudly with the same cackle that was shared by her daughter Marie when she laughed. Rod smiled into her eyes before beginning to joke back.

"Hey!" said Rod with wide eyes, "Don't you doubt Big Chester for a minute! That sucker took us ten minutes to reel in."

"Who's rod snagged it?" asked Tabby.

"Dad's." said Rod, "I can remember it wasn't too long into the trip. Dad took a seat in his chair where he always did at the stern while I set Annalee and Annamarie up with little rods of their own next to my chair. Annamae was too little to fish, so I strapped her into her life vest and let her play with her dolls. We were sitting there for about a half hour when I heard Dad's rod engage, and I turned around to see what was happening. You should have seen it, the rod was bent, and the fish was practically pulling him out of the chair."

Tabby giggled.

"I got up as fast as I could and ran over to him. I grabbed the rod and helped him hold it while he began reeling it. It felt like my arms were getting ripped off. The captain heard the commotion from the deck and decided to help us too. He ran down the stairs and helped me brace the rod while Dad reeled him in."

"So you're telling me it took three grown men just to reel in a fish?" said Tabby jokingly.

"Well at least I didn't drop a hundred dollar rod overboard the summer before that, did I Tib?" said Rod playfully, alluding to one of Tabby's nautical mishaps.

Tabby playfully slapped Rod in the arm without realizing she had done so, just as she used to do when they were still dating. Tabby finally realized what she had done and blushed slightly, as did Rod. After a few moments, Tabby spoke.

"So Ishmael," said Tabby, "Wanna finish your sea story?"

Rod snickered before he continued.

"The thing that really made my day was what happened next," said Rod, "A little after the captain jumped down to help, I began feeling little hands tugging on my shirt. I turned around while still pulling on the rod, and looked down to see all three of the girls pulling on my shirt, 'helping' us pull in the fish. They were saying, 'Get the fish Daddy!' over and over in their little cute high pitched voices."

"Awww," said Tabby, "That's so cute, I miss those little voices."

"It was," said Rod, "It made my day and it made Dads too. Even the captain smiled."

Rod took a sip of his soda and replaced it into the coffee table.

"It didn't take long for us to finally reel him in and rack him." said Rod, "We took a picture with it on the boat before we took it home. I don't know what happened to it though."

"It's upstairs," said Tabby, "I'll go get the box."

Tabby wasted no time and rose off of the couch. She ran as quickly as she could up the stairs, her high heeled boots causing a "click" with each step. Tabby burst through the bedroom door with a smile on her face an opened the bedroom closet. Luckily for Lee, Tabby was currently too enamored by the night she was sharing with Rod to take notice that Eddy's "girlie magazines" that Lee had confiscated were sitting on the closet floor. Even more fortunate was that the magazine with the missing cover was still sitting at the top of the pile, making the pile to appear as if it consisted of run of the mill magazines. She quickly grabbed the box full of pictures that Marie had searched through with Double Dee at the beginning of the week and pulled it out of the closet. She walked out of the bedroom door and proceeded down the stairs with the box in hand.

"Here we are," said Tabby as she descended the stairs. Rod stood up and grabbed the heavy box off of Tabby as she moved the coffee table forward to create space for the picture box in front of the couch. Rod placed the box down directly in front of them and opened it to begin going through the photographs.

"What luck," said Tabby as she reached into the box and pulled out one of the first pictures she saw. The fishing picture as well as Marie's communion picture was relatively accessible due to Marie handling them earlier that week.

Tabby looked down at the photograph of Rod holding a small May, who was wearing an oversized orange life vest and looking towards the camera confused. Rod was wearing sunglasses and was smiling as he gave the camera a thumbs up. To his left was the fish that he named "Big Chester," hanging from a rack. Directly to the fishes left was a white bearded man, Mr. Kanker. Young versions of Marie and Lee stood in front of their grandfather wearing orange life vests of their own. Both girls were smiling, as was Mr. Kanker who had his hands resting on their shoulders.

"Look at you," said Tabby as she giggled, "Tryin to act all cool!"

"Hey," said Rod playfully, "I was hot back then, and I'm still hot now!"

Tabby looked into Rods blue eyes and smiled.

"I'll say…" said Tabby under her breath as she blushed.

"What was that?" asked Rod.

"Oh…..um," said Tabby while blushing, "Sorry, I was just thinking of something that happened today at work."

Tabby looked down towards the photograph as she blushed. Rod had in fact made out Tabby's words and was blushing himself. The adults regained their composure and began conversing once again.

"The captain took the picture for us," said Rod, "He said in all the years that he had been taking people out on that boat, he never saw a fish that big. He took two pictures. He gave one to us, while he kept the other one to hang in the "hall of fame" in the tackle shop."

Tabby looked at the picture intently, gazing at her girls, her father and her ex fiancé, all sharing smiles together.

"You all looked so happy," said Tabby.

"Yeah," said Rod, "That was the best fishing day we ever had."

Tabby paused for a few seconds before she placed the picture back into the box and began going through even more photographs. It had been ages since she had looked through the pictures and really had no idea what she would find.

"Let's see what else we got in here?" said Tabby as she pulled out a large pile of pictures and began shuffling through them.

Tabby passed through pictures of Marie's communion, with her and Rod smiling as they saw pictures of their little girls all dressed up, smiling from ear to ear. Eventually, she came across several photographs of the girls when they still lived in Rods house. In each and every picture, all three girl's faces were adorned with cute smiles. There were pictures of Lee hugging Marie, with her giving her own hug in return, as well as the sisters sitting together on the couch, smiling. There were even pictures of the girls happily playing dolls with each other on Rod's family room floor.

After while, Tabby stumbled upon photographs of the girls when they were school aged. In the photographs, Lee was around 8, Marie was around 7 and May was 6. The most noticeable change in the girls was not their appearance; it was their emotions. As Tabby shifted through the photographs, a tear came to her eye. She noticed that the girls appeared to be forcing themselves to smile, not longer able to smile as the genuinely did when they were toddlers. Tabby then noticed that Lee was not smiling in any of the pictures she passed, and appeared as if she was in a perpetual state of depression. Tabby placed her hand over her mouth as tears began to drizzle from her eyes. Rod took notice and glanced toward Tabby with an expression of concern.

"What's the matter Tib?" asked Rod.

Tabby held one of the photographs of Lee and Marie out for Rod to view.

"Look it her," said Tabby, "Compare this to these pictures of her as a toddler. You can tell this was taken during the time that she was being touched."

With those words Tabby let out tears from her eyes and looked away from Rod.

"Tib," said Rod gently, "It wasn't your fault."

"Yes it was!" yelled Tabby, "I let that freak into my house! I can't believe that I sat back thinking all was well and dandy while my baby was being hurt and traumatized every single night of her life."

Tabby paused.

"Annalee told me the whole story of what happened to her the other night when we talked about the retreat." said Tabby, "It makes me freaking sick to even think that someone could be so low in the world."

Tabby looked up into Rods eyes in tears.

"Do you know how he manipulated her into not telling us about it?" asked Tabby.

Rod simply stared with a somber facial expression at Tabby waiting for an answer.

"He told her that if she didn't keep doing what she was doing, or if she ever told us about it, he was going to start getting Annemarie and Annamae." said Tabby.

Rods face filled with anger, but at the same time filled with sadness.

"He's nothing but a dirty scumbag." said Rod. "I swear to god Tib, when I walked in and saw him with his pants down, in front of her, I wanted to freakin' kill him. I lost control of myself and took him down, and I'm usually not an angry person. But nobody ever lays a finger on my daughters or hurts them in anyway. That's a promise that I'll keep until the day I die."

Tabby smiled at Rods words for a few seconds after which her face filled with sadness once again.

"We were powerless to do anything about it," said Tabby, "The detectives said that they couldn't lock him up unless Annalee was willing to testify."

Tabby looked into Rods eyes.

"I tested her to see if she remembered any of the interrogations from the detectives when I talked to her the other night," said Tabby, "She never alluded to any of it. I think she is repressing a lot of the memories from that point in her life."

Tabby paused and sniffled.

"She wouldn't say a word to the cops." said Tabby, "That freak had her terrified to wits end to say anything, even though the detectives told her nicely that he was locked up and wouldn't be able to find her ever again. I know what she was thinking, she was too scared that he would come back and get her again, or even worse in her mind, her little sisters. Annalee always had this natural mindset to look out for Annemarie and Annamae for some reason. It's like she had a natural motherly drive."

Tabby paused.

"It's terrible," said Tabby, "They couldn't make a case, so the charges were dropped. But thankfully the freak was locked up on a burglary and went away for a pretty long time."

Tabby shifted through the pictures and found one of Lee as a small girl in a pink frilly dress. Her red curls hung to her shoulder, and her blue eyes glistened under light shining from above.

"Look at that," said Tabby, "Look at that little girl, with those pretty red curls. Now she's filled with so much anger, I barely even recognize her as the same little girl."

Tabby paused as tears ran down her face once again.

"I failed our girls Rod," said Tabby as she began crying profusely, "I failed them by not giving them the emotional support that they needed growing up. They needed me for guidance, and I was too busy dealing with my own emotional problems. I put them right down the same path that I was on when I moved to that city, and through the same exact school environment that I had such a hard time with. That bullying they were forced to endure traumatized them, and made them into bullies themselves."

Tabby looked up into Rods eyes.

"And I especially failed Annalee," said Tabby, "I should have put her in therapy. I never talked to her about her abuse, even though she needed someone to be there for her. I denied her the help that she truly deserved."

Tabby looked towards her feet.

"I should have not been a fool and left the girls with you," said Tabby, "You would have done a much better job than I did."

"Tab!" yelled Rod, "Don't beat yourself up over the past. If the girls stayed with me, they would have still went to the same school, and still had the same problems. It is nobody's fault that all of this had to happen, even though I wish it didn't from the bottom of my heart."

Tabby continued sobbing for a few seconds after which Rod touched his hand to her face, guiding it to look into his eyes.

"As much as I would like to," said Rod, "We can't change what happened in the past. But we can set a new future for the girls."

Tabby looked into Rods eyes and noticed that they were filled with sadness.

"We're gonna help Annalee Tib," said Rod, "This trip will be good for her. It's something that she really needs, and her willingness to actually do it is the first step towards building her a better future."

Rod grabbed tissues from the coffee table and handed them to Tabby.

"Dry your tears," said Rod gently as he dabbed Tabby's cheeks, "We're gonna help her no matter what."

Tabby and Rod spent a few moments together in silence as Tabby began to regain her composure, staring down at a photograph of all three of her girls as toddlers.

"She wants to grow her hair back out again," said Tabby as she smiled.

"Really?" asked Rod as he stared at the photograph. "I think she should. She was so pretty Tab, like a china doll."

"I know," said Tabby, "Wait till you see her later tonight. She had Brandy put extensions in her hair so that she could see how she was eventually going to look. When I saw her step out of that chair, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was like I was finally seeing the pretty little girl in this picture become a beautiful young woman."

Tabby took a sip of soda.

"It's funny," said Tabby, "Even before I sat down and actually bonded with the girls last night, I was beginning to notice something changing inside them."

"What do you mean?" asked Rod.

"It's weird," said Tabby, "But it seems like after Annearie started dating Edd, the girls have been much less angry than they usually are and seem to not fight as much as they used to. They have been behaving in school too. I had a phone call about a week ago for Annalee for cutting an afternoon class, but I have not gotten any phone calls or letters from the school telling me that one of them has been suspended for the past two months."

Tabby looked into Rods eyes.

"Something wonderful is happening," said Tabby, "It's like they suddenly broke the emotional walls they formed, and started talking to each other about their problems. They're acting like true sisters Rod, it's amazing. And on top of that, they are starting to actually gain friends and be invited to things. You don't know how happy that makes me."

"Trust me," said Rod, "I definitely saw a change in the girls when I took them ice skating. There's usually always a fight about who sits where and other stupid things like that, but this time, they all filed into the truck calmly and politely. I was starting to wonder if they were sick or something."

Rod paused after which he returned his attention to the photograph.

"Look at Annemarie," said Rod, "You don't know how happy I was when I saw that she dyed her hair back to black on Tuesday."

"Me too," said Tabby, "I hated that whole rebellious punk stage that she went through. She was so hard to handle, sometimes even harder than Annalee. I knew the blue hair, black clothes, rusty fingernails and the horrible attitude was just one big cry for help and attention."

Tabby paused as she stared at the photograph. Marie's black wavy hair hung to her shoulders exposing her full face, including her affected right eye.

"It's a shame," said Tabby, "I really wished I could have gotten her eye fixed when she was little."

"I can't believe they ruled that out as cosmetic and wouldn't cover it," said Rod, "I'm pretty sure not being able to use one of your eyes is a visual handicap."

"I can only imagine," said Tabby, "Not only that, but the kids always teased her about it in school. That really broke my heart."

"It is a damn shame," said Rod, "Now it's too late, she's at too high of a risk of losing her eye if they tried to fix it now."

Tabby and Rod sat in silence for a few seconds. Rod finally decided to break it.

"How bout we have a look see at what else is in here?" said Rod as he smiled. Tabby smiled back at him and began scanning through the photographs once again.

The couple shared laughs and giggles as they reminisced about memories past. They scrolled through countless fishing pictures, as well as pictures of Mr. Kanker dressed as Frankenstein to take his granddaughters out trick-or-treating.

All of the merriment came to a complete halt when Tabby happened to stumble upon a certain photograph. Rod and Tabby were no longer laughing, and both had serious stares on their faces as they gazed at the photograph sitting on Tabby's lap.

The photograph appeared to have been taken at a hall, as there was a wooden dance floor. On the back wall, was a sign that read "United States Armed Forces Veterans Hall." In the background of the photograph stood several people, including several members of Rods family, as well as Mr. and Ms. Kanker holding infant versions of Lee and Marie. All were smiling happily at the event that was occurring in the foreground.

A younger version of Tabby stood in the middle of the dance floor, wearing formfitting blue jeans and a blue pleated blouse. Her pregnant belly protruded noticeably out of her body. Her eyes appeared as if they were tearing up from pure joy. Her hand was covering her mouth out of surprise as she looked down towards Rod, who was kneeling on one knee in front of her. As he looked into Tabby's eyes smiling, he held a small black box open in his hand. There was no doubt about it, Tabby and Rod had stumbled upon a photograph of their engagement.

Tabby's eyes began shedding tears once again as she stared into the photograph. Rod stared at the photograph with an expression of melancholy. He was hurting just as much inside as Tabby was.

Tabby quickly took the picture and placed it into the bottom of the pile, revealing the next photograph. To both Rod and Tabby's dismay, the photograph was taken the same day, only a few moments after the first one. In this photograph, Tabby had her legs wrapped around Rods waist, as well as her arms wrapped around his neck. The ring that was once contained in the black box was now on Tabby's left ring finger. As the newly engaged couple embraced, they shared a passionate kiss in front of everyone.

Tabby now could not control her tears. As tears began streaming down her face, she once again shuffled to the next picture, hoping to escape from the topic of their relationship. Her efforts were to no avail however, as the next photograph was perhaps the most heartbreaking.

The photograph was taken later that night. Rod and Tabby happened to be sharing a slow dance together at the hall to celebrate their engagement. The photograph showed Tabby from the neck up, and Rod from the chest up, due to their height difference. Tabby's arms were wrapped around Rods neck, as she stared up into his eyes dreamily, appearing as if she was lost in his gaze. It was no surprise that Rod was returning the favor, staring down into his loves beautiful blue eyes as they danced the night away in each other's arms.

Tabby sat staring at the photograph for a few seconds, tears rolling down her cheeks until she finally brought herself to speak.

"Look at us," said Tabby, openly talking about their relationship for the first time since they broke up, "We looked so happy."

"Yeah," said Rod, "I can remember that day. That day, and the day Annamae was born were the two happiest days of my life."

Tabby and Rod sat staring at the photograph in silence for around five minutes. Both were holding back intense emotions, and were afraid to let them go. Eventually Rod couldn't take it anymore. He decided to ask a question he had been dying to ask for a long time.

"Why Tab!" yelled Rod, "Why wouldn't you talk to me! Why wouldn't you give me a chance!"

Tabby broke out in tears at Rods statement. Rod's eyes began watering as well.

"We had it all!" yelled Rod, "I would have taken the fire test earlier. We could have moved out here to Peach Creek back then, and raised the girls on that cul-de-sac together. We had everything, our love, our three beautiful girls, and a bright future! I loved you like I never loved anyone else before. Why did you give all of that up Tab!"

Tabby couldn't bring herself to answer and was still crying tears to herself.

"Why!" yelled Rod holding back tears.

"Because I was a freakin' asshole that's why!" yelled Tabby as tears poured down her face, "You're right, we had everything. I loved you Rod. You were my hero, you saw through my mistakes and loved me for who I really was. You made me feel special every freakin day of my life. I couldn't have asked for anything better."

Tabby paused.

"And by the time I realized how much I screwed up by letting you go it was already too late," said Tabby, "You already moved on with Linda and forgot completely about what we had."

Tabby looked away from Rod towards the kitchen as profuse tears began running down her face. Rod sat in silence for a few seconds before he finally began speaking softly.

"I never forgot you." said Rod.

Rod reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. Tabby looked over towards him to see what he was doing. She watched as he opened up his wallet and slowly reached into the largest pocket. Tabby's eyes widened as she watched Rod pull out the very ring that he had given her on that day he proposed to her, and the same ring that Tabby had heartlessly threw at him the day of their breakup.

Tabby was speechless as she glanced down towards the ring and placed her hand over her mouth. Her eyes began emitting tears once again, but this time they were caused by pure joy.

"I kept this hoping that someday I could place it back on your finger." said Rod as he stared down at the ring with a tense emotional stare. "I knew in the bottom of my heart that it wasn't over."

Rod looked into Tabby's tear filled eyes.

"I don't want it to be over Tib." said Rod.

Tabby sobbed slightly.

"I don't want it to be over either Rod," said Tabby.

Rod reached his hand over and grabbed Tabby's left hand. She watched as he gently lifted it up in the air with his left hand, using his other hand to position the ring in front of her ring finger.

"I think today is the day that this ring finally retakes its rightful place on your finger," said Rod as he smiled into Tabby's eyes with a smile that he had not shown in years.

Rod slid the ring onto Tabby's finger, causing her to smile. The couple stared into each other's eyes as if they were in a trance.

"Listen Tab," said Rod, "I just want to say tha….."

Rod could not finish his sentence as Tabby had leaned forward and touched her lips to his. Rod was slightly taken aback but did not hesitate to comply with Tabby's wishes. Rod had something important to say and pulled away.

"Tib, I really want to…."

Tabby now demonstrated behavior that Double Dee had come to know and love with Marie, and it was obvious that Marie's way of handling men was inherited from Tabby. Tabby stood up off of the couch, and sat back down on top of Rods groin straddling him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned close to his face.

"Don't ruin the moment, Roddy!" said Tabby playfully after which she touched her lips to Rods once again. Rod and Tabby were now making out passionately on the couch, ironically at the same time as the climactic "kiss in the rain scene" of _The Notebook_ played on the television. Rod and Tabby had longed for this very moment for over ten years; and a beautiful moment it was.


	63. Chapter 63

**Chapter 63**

Around the same time that Tabby and Rod initiated their long overdue passionate kiss, Lee and Eddy had just finished sharing a passionate moment of their own on Double Dee's couch. Despite the fact that the loud music emanating from the speakers of Double Dee's entertainment system was dampened due to the den being isolated from the rest of the house by a pair of French doors, the teenagers could still make out the song. The tune in question was _Sharing the Night Together_ by Dr. Hook, a rather appropriate song for the moment they were sharing.

Eddy and Lee had spent the last fifteen minutes sharing an unexpected passionate kiss, and even though both had felt as if they had done something taboo, both boy and girl couldn't help but feel like a million bucks as they lied in each other's arms.

Eddy was currently lying on his back staring up towards the ceiling. Lee laid on her side next to Eddy with her head resting on his chest. Eddy had his left arm around Lee's shoulder as she draped her right leg over Eddy's hips.

The couple remained in this position for quite some time, recovering from their wistful kiss. Eddy looked away from the ceiling and glanced down at the girl who he had just shared his first kiss with. Her long red curls fell over her shoulder with what Eddy saw as perfection. Eddy continued to check Lee out, admiring her well endowed chest, as well as her curvy hips, which were especially pronounced due to the way she was positioned.

Even though Eddy was checking out Lee's body, his thoughts were not of a sexual nature. Rather, he saw Lee's body as a work of art, a masterpiece forged by nature that was designed to go hand in hand with the beautiful personality that Lee had demonstrated for him earlier that night. Although Eddy had taken a vow to never fall for a girl and to spend his youthful days "playing the field, he simply could not deny the fact that he had feelings for the red headed girl that was lying in his arms. Although Eddy knew that he had feelings of attraction towards the eldest Kanker sister, he began to wonder if his feelings were genuine, or merely due to his hormones raging from their lascivious encounter.

Eddy finally realized that while his hormones were currently raging more they have ever had in his adolescent life, there was something else causing his unusual feelings. True, Lee looked like a totally different person, and to quote Eddy's thoughts, she was 'hot as shit'. But although her altered physical appearance was able to quickly capture Eddy's attention, it was her genuine kindness, sweetness, and honesty that retained Eddy's interest in her. Eddy had never even thought that Lee had had such a horrible and violent past. He had only looked skin deep, and saw a tough bully who cared about no one but herself.

As Lee rested her head on Eddy's chest, she couldn't help but feel ecstatic. Although Lee had done things with men she wasn't particularly proud of, she had never actually kissed a boy; and she was glad that her first real kiss was a special one.

Lee's feelings took a nose dive after her last thought. Did their kiss really mean anything to Eddy or was it just his teenage hormones acting out against his better judgment? Lee wrestled with her thoughts for a few moments before she came to a rather relaxing conclusion. The proud and confident Eddy McGee would have never opened up to her about his life, if he did not trust her and view her as someone special. Eddy's tears were completely genuine, and Lee truly felt sorry for poor Eddy and the abuse he had been forced to deal with during his young life.

Over the course of the last few days, Lee began to notice change in her own personality as well as her attitude towards Eddy. For the past two weeks it was as if a chisel was attempting to carve away at Lee's tough unemotional exterior. With each passing day, the chisel slowly but surely began breaking off chunks of material, paving the way to set the true Annalee Kanker free from the grasp of the hellish persona she had created for herself. After exchanging her powerful words with Eddy a few moments ago, it was as if that chisel morphed into a sledgehammer, which broke Lee out of her emotional casket with one powerful strike.

The couple sat in silence for a few seconds before Lee finally decided to speak. Lee did not look up towards Eddy, but remained in the same position she was in.

"Crazy night huh?" asked Lee using her true lady like voice. Lee's gentle voice still surprised Eddy in a good way, as she was so used to Lee's gravely, deep, domineering voice.

Eddy looked towards the ceiling while smiling before replying in a dream like voice.

"Yeah," said Eddy slowly as he stared wide-eyed toward the ceiling, "Crazy night."

Lee and Eddy sat in silence for a few moments. Lee still had some things that she needed to get off of her chest and in her heart she trusted Eddy enough to talk to him about her problems.

"It's funny," said Lee in a rather somber tone, "It just feels like things were never really meant to work out for me in life."

Eddy, although clueless when it came to being emotional, couldn't help but feel sorry for Lee after hearing her last statement. He knew from the sound of her voice that Lee was being serious with him. Even though Eddy usually turned the other cheek towards his peers when they needed emotional guidance, he couldn't just sit back and watch Lee suffer.

"What do you mean Lee?" asked Eddy in a gentle voice. Although his voice still retained its natural gritty tone, it sounded rather calm and peaceful.

"I was dealt so many bad cards it wasn't even funny," said Lee, "As I said before, after my mom and dad broke up, my mom shut herself off from me and my sisters. She suddenly stopped wanting to spend time with us. She used to play dolls with us and read to each of us all the time before bed. After the breakup, we were forced to fend for ourselves. The stories we enjoyed before bed were gone, along with all of the fun that we shared with her."

Lee paused to take her breath.

"Just to be clear, I do not look down upon my mother, and I do not believe that she is a bad mother. She worked her ass off every day of her life to keep a roof over our heads and put food in our mouths. She loved us, and we all knew it even though she never told us she did. She just wasn't there for us emotionally when we really needed her."

Eddy glanced down towards Lee's face which was still gazing at the deactivated television screen.

"It's amazing though," said Lee, "Within the last couple of days, she has finally been opening up to us about her problems, and we have all talked with her about the things that were bothering us. She offered to help me deal with my abuse, and asked me if I wanted to go to this camp at the end of June to talk to professionals and other survivors about my issues. She truly is trying to get to know us, and earn a place back in our lives. She even told us that she loved us and meant it, something that I cannot remember her doing since I was 5 years old. "

Lee took another breath as Eddy tightened his embrace around Lee. Lee decided to continue the story she had began earlier.

"Things only got worse when we started school," said Lee, "My mom delayed me and Marie from starting until May was ready, so I was already seven years old when we started kindergarten. We were shy girls, and I can remember my teacher telling us 'how fun school was gonna be and how we're gonna make friends with so many other little girls and boys'"

Lee paused.

"Her statement couldn't be further from the truth." said Lee, "After my mother stopped caring so much, our appearances started to suffer. We used to go to school with tangles in our hair and dirty clothes. We all were teased for certain things about ourselves as well. I was teased about my silver tooth and my tangled hair, Marie was teased about her eye, and May was teased about her overbite and the bad lisp she used to have."

Lee paused for a few seconds before continuing.

"My baby teeth were pretty much trashed, covered in plaque and almost rotted down to the roots. My mother did take us to the dentist, but that was only once every six months, and six months without any kind of maintenance is plenty of time for tooth decay to set in."

Eddy stared down into Lee's face, waiting for the continuation of her story.

"I started losing my baby teeth when I was 6, and when I did, I made two promises to myself. The first was that I would make sure that I brushed my adult teeth everyday to prevent them from rotting away. My second promise was that I would make sure that Marie and May took care of their teeth so that they wouldn't have to go through anything I went through. Every morning before school, I stood in the bathroom door making sure that they brushed their teeth carefully. I sometimes had to help May with it because she was so much younger."

Eddy was surprised at what he was hearing. Lee had already proven to him that she was a compassionate person after hearing her emotional words earlier that evening, but he had never expected the antagonistic Lee Kanker to act as a mother figure to her little sisters.

"Although I cared for my adult teeth, it turned out that the decay on my baby teeth did more damage than we thought." said Lee.

Lee looked up into Eddy's eyes and leaned slightly off of his body so that she could look into his eyes. She opened her mouth, and gently removed her "Dental Illusion" prosthetic revealing the silver crown that covered her left central maxillary incisor. Eddy stared down into Lee's eyes with seriousness, having no idea what to say.

"Apparently, the decay from my front top baby tooth was so bad that the bacteria spread into my gums. Infection set in, and it was already too late to treat when the dentist discovered it. He had no choice, it was either to put this crown on, or to pull the tooth. We made the obvious choice and I had this ugly thing ever since."

Lee placed her prosthetic back into her mouth, disguing her tooth once again.

"As I got older, I found myself taking on more and more responsibilities," said Lee, "In addition to making sure they brushed their teeth, I made sure that they were up to get ready to school on time in the morning. I also started taking care of their hair so that they would at least stop being teased about that. Somebody had to be there for them and that someone had to be me."

Lee's eyes began watering as she told the rest of her story.

"Even into our teenage years, I was the one who showed them the way," said Lee, "I didn't even feel close enough to my mom to talk with her when I got my period for the first time. I had to figure it all out by myself and then guide Marie and May through it too. The worst part was that my mom never even asked us about it, even though she knew that we were all reaching that age."

Eddy laid on the couch surprised that Lee felt comfortable enough around him to discuss things such as her "womanly functions". He began to feel compassion for Lee, a feeling which he never thought he would display for the belligerent Kanker girl.

"It hurts Eddy," said Lee as she looked up to Eddy with tears in her eyes, "Even though I'm glad I did what I did, I wish I could go back and enjoy my child hood with my sisters, rather than be a second mother to them. I really wish that my mom and dad didn't break up. She was such a happy person before they did. It actually broke my heart as a little girl to see such a drastic change in the family, and it hurt so much feeling like my mom didn't love me anymore."

Lee paused.

"And the bullying at school didn't help either," said Lee, "Hearing names like 'Metal Mouth' , 'Lazy Eye Marie' and 'Bucky Beaver' directed towards us really hurt. Eventually, we couldn't take it anymore and we became bullies ourselves. We started beating people up, taking their money, and calling others hurtful names to try to escape our own problems. Needless to say, it worked really well, and to be honest with you it felt pretty good to be on the other side of the spectrum for a change. Me and Marie even wound up changing our appearances to make ourselves more intimidating. I cut off my long hair, stopped caring about the way I dressed and stopped shaving my legs. Marie dyed her hair blue, started wearing black, and got this messed up 'I hate life' attitude for a little while."

Lee took a breath as she laid her head back onto Eddy's chest.

"May never changed her appearance." said Lee, "She never really had a behavior problem in school either. I guess she was spared the feeling that me and Marie felt of being alone in the world. She played softball for the YMCA back in the city, and the girls on the team were really nice and looked out for each other. I'm glad that she at least had that outlet for herself."

Lee looked up into Eddy's wide eyes once again. Eddy was currently sweating bullets. He was not used to comforting an emotional needy person, especially a girl as cute as Lee, and had no idea what to say.

"The thing that really bothers me the most is that we all had the chance to make friends when we moved here." said Lee, "But instead of being kind to everyone, we continued to bully. I guess being able to bully everyone here made us feel better and for some reason we thought it made up for all of the bullying that we dealt with growing up."

Lee paused and took a breath.

"All's it really did was make us social outcasts and put us back in the same position of being alone in the world just as we were back in the city."

Eddy saw this as an opportunity to strike in with a few words of his own.

"I know what you mean," said Eddy, "Up until last summer, me and my friends were considered outcasts to all of the other kids. Ed and Double Dee really had nothing to do with it, it was all my fault. I'm actually surprised that they stuck by me through everything, even when I was a jerk to both of them most of the time."

Eddy and Lee paused, at which point Lee leaned her head on Eddy's chest once again.

"I guess we really aren't that different after all huh?" asked Lee.

"I guess we aren't." said Eddy.

With those words, the couple once again sat in silence for around five minutes, at which point Lee decided to pose a curious question.

"Hey Eddy," said Lee rather calmly, "What did you really get out of looking at those magazines that I took off of ya the other night?"

Eddy stared at the ceiling for a few seconds before looking down into Lee's blue eyes.

"To tell you the truth Lee," said Eddy, "It started as just being the 'cool thing to do'. I know it sounds really weird, but I got them off of my brother. He started showing the magazines to me when I was seven years old."

"Seven?" asked Lee, "Isn't that a little young?"

"Yeah," said Eddy, "Looking back on it that was inappropriate. But then again, I can't think of anything that Mike did that wasn't inappropriate."

Eddy paused for a few seconds.

"The only lesson I really learned from the magazines is how to treat women like crap." said Eddy, "That stuff is sort of like poison, too much of it starts to screw up your social life with the ladies. I learned that the hard way, I got shot down by every single girl that I ever tried to hit on because I was in this fantasy world that I was some big shot Casanova."

Lee giggled.

"Eddy," said Lee jokingly, "I hate to break it to ya, but you are not Casanova. I knew that the day you and your friends tried to use 'reverse psychology' on us. I could tell that you were afraid of hitting on us, and your sweating is what let me know that you were just playing into us. It's funny cause you try to act like this big sex god, but it was Ed and Double Dee who were doing all of the work that day."

Eddy appeared slightly disheartened by Lee's comment about his ways with women. Lee looked up into his eyes with a gentle smile, after which she rolled her body over onto his, and moved herself up so that her face was directly in front of his.

"Listen you," said Lee with a whisper as she smiled, "You go around trying to act like Glenn Quagmire, when you are really just a big sweetheart. You are a really nice guy on the inside, and you proved that to me over the last couple of days. I would really like to see more of my sweet little Eddy Skipper McGee."

Lee playfully reached her hands up and pinched Eddy's cheeks as she uttered her last statement. Eddy couldn't help but smile as he stared into Lee's blue eyes, which for once appeared to be glistening out of pure joy.

"You are a really sweet girl too Lee," said Eddy in a dream-like voice uncharacteristic of him, "And I'm glad I finally got to see the real you tonight."

Lee blushed as Eddy stared directly into her eyes with a dreamy smile. At this moment, Lee couldn't control herself from leaning her face down and touching her lips to Eddy's once again. She pulled away and repositioned her head back onto Eddy's chest. Eddy decided to pose an extremely serious question, a question that he would have never even thought to ask prior to his encounter with Lee tonight.

"Um….Lee…..um…..does….uh…..me and you…uh."

Eddy's words simply were not coming out and the space that they were supposed to fill was occupied by key words punctuated by non-sensible gibberish. Lee could make out the gist of what Eddy was saying and giggled as she looked up into his eyes.

"Eddy," said Lee, "Are you trying to ask me to be your girlfriend?"

Eddy stared down into Lee's eyes blushing heavily, causing Lee to giggle. Her statements about Eddy and his false bravado couldn't be further from the truth.

"Well…umm…ye…see" said Eddy.

Lee sighed at which point she once again rolled over on top of Eddy.

"Here's your answer lover boy" said Lee while smiling, after which she pressed her lips to Eddy's for a third time. The new couple spent the next few minutes sharing their second voluntary passionate kiss, as well as their first kiss as a couple. Two arch rivals, who once bickered over everything from control of a baseball field, to the space of a poorly constructed tree house were now lovers, caught up in the same web of emotions as their sisters and friends.

After a few moments, Lee pulled away from Eddy and laid her heard on his shoulder. She placed her arm around his other shoulder, and hugged him tightly. Eddy responded with a slight squeeze of his own.

"This whole month has been nothing but some kind of big hanky panky hullabaloo!" said Lee after which she snickered, "It's almost unreal."

"Tell me about it," said Eddy as he grinned, "First Sockhead and Marie, then Lumpy and May, and now, …"

Eddy looked down in to Lee's blue eyes and smiled.

"Me and you." said Eddy

Lee smiled back at Eddy with a whole hearted smile of her own, after which she leaned her head on his shoulder once again.

"Things are changing Eddy," said Lee as she looked up into Eddy's eyes smiling, "And I'm glad they are."

Eddy smiled back into Lee's eyes. He was so enchanted by Lee's beautiful face that he didn't even notice himself leaning into Lee's forehead. He kissed Lee on the forehead, causing her to smile, after which he returned his head to resting on the armrest of the couch.

The new couple sat in silence for a few minutes, after which Lee began to sit up.

"Alright," said Lee in a gentle yet domineering voice, "Enough of all of this mushy stuff, we got a party to enjoy!"

Lee reached into her purse, pulling out her makeup mirror and eyeliner. She quickly readjusted her makeup, after which she closed her mirror and placed her supplies back into her purse.

"Come on let's go!" yelled Lee enthusiastically as she smiled and rose off of the couch. She smiled at Eddy with a sexy grin, and began walking toward the French doors, being sure to flaunt her hips as much as she could.

"Ya comin Eddy?" asked Lee as she stood by the doors while twirling her hair as if trying to be sexy.

Eddy's face adorned a sly grin as he got up off of the couch, never taking his eyes off of Lee. As "Play that Funky Music" by Wild Cherry played out in the living room, he began walking towards Lee, dancing to the music while snapping his fingers, causing Lee to giggle. He eventually reached Lee, and opened the door for her, while smiling. The height difference between Eddy's 5'2" and Lee's 5'9" (with heels) was quite pronounced and almost comical. Despite this fact, neither of them seemed to really care.

"Ready to make our debut as a couple?" asked Lee.

"Sure thing," said Eddy as he looked up into Lee's eyes

"I'm probably never going to hear the end of this one from May and Marie." said Lee.

"Don't worry," said Eddy, "The Sock Head and Lumpy aren't gonna let me live it down either."

Eddy glanced Lee over from head to toe once again, admiring her beautiful curves as well as he gorgeous face. Eddy shot another grin towards Lee's face.

"But one thing I can say is that everyone's finally gonna be jealous of me for once," said Eddy, "Cause I'm gonna be sitting next to the hottest babe here."

Lee smiled and blushed for a few seconds, after which she leaned down into Eddy's face while smiling.

"Well let me just say that all of those girls that turned you down earlier tonight had no idea of the mistake that they made." said Lee.

Lee gently pecked Eddy on the cheek after which she giggled and stood erect once more.

"Alright, enough sweet talkin'" said Lee as she grabbed Eddy's hand in a laced finger hold, "Let's Party!"


	64. Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**

The cacophonous music emanating from the speakers down in the living room was barely audible up in Double Dees room. Marie had just finished giving Double Dee his "gift" and the black haired teenager was currently snuggling in her boyfriend's arms under his large orange comforter. Double Dee's heart was racing faster than it ever was before, so much so that it seemed to want to jump out of his chest. He stared up towards his green ceiling fan with a smile on his face as he felt the warmth of Marie's bare torso leaning on his body. Although Double Dee was initially apprehensive to Marie's "gift" and considered himself a gentleman, there was no way he could deny the fact that he truly enjoyed Marie's wonderful performance. The previous day, Eddy joked with Double Dee, saying how "he would become a man" at the party tonight. It seems that Eddy's words did have some truth behind them, as after his prurient encounter with Marie, Double Dee truly did feel as though he had become a man.

Marie reached her right hand up towards Double Dees chest. Double Dee looked down to see Marie looking up towards him with a sly grin on her face as her sparkling blue finger nail traced random shapes on his chest.

"So cutie," said Marie in a rather flirtatious voice, "How did you like the second part of my gift?"

Double Dee looked into Marie's face as a familiar rosy red tint adorned his cheeks. Marie giggled, at which point she peck kissed his chest in the area of his heart.

"Well Marie," said Double Dee as he smiled while running the fingers of his right hand through her hair, "I must say that your spontaneous displays of physical affection have always surprised me, but none of your surprises were as enjoyable as the one you have just bestowed upon me."

"I'll say," said Marie playfully as she rolled her body on top of his, causing him to become slightly excited upon feeling her bare chest. "That's the loudest I ever heard your voice since I met you."

Marie snickered as Double Dee looked back towards the ceiling blushing heavily at Marie's comment. Marie rested her head on Doubled Dee's chest, staring at the wall while smiling. Double Dee reached down with his right hand and guided her face until it was looking into his.

"Annemarie," said Double Dee, "You don't know how much I love you."

Marie smiled heavily while tearing up out of joy.

"I love you too Double Dee," said Marie, "You are and always will be my hero."

Marie leaned up and touched her lips to Double Dees while embracing him tightly. Double Dee wrapped his other arm around Maries back, holding her in a sensual embrace. For the entire duration of their gentle, yet passionate kiss, Double Dee and Marie were sharing the same exact thought with each other; they never wanted this moment to end.

After what seemed like an eternity, Marie pulled her lips away from Double Dees and buried her face into his chest as she embraced him tighter than she ever had before. After a few seconds, Marie calmly placed her head on Double Dee's shoulder and laid embracing her boyfriend in silence for a few seconds.

"So Oven Mitt?" asked Marie as she smiled into Double Dees eyes, "As much as I really don't want this moment to end I think it's about time we got back to the party? After all, according to Eddy the whole thing is in honor of our relationship."

Double Dee and Marie shared a laugh.

"I can't argue with that logic," said Double Dee, "And I am quite curious to see how Ed is handling his conversation with May."

"What was that?" asked Marie with a smile.

"Oh silly me," said Double Dee, "In the midst of our heated encounter, I have neglected to tell you that I managed to coax Ed into taking May out to the back porch to spend time with her. Hopefully, Ed will find some common ground with May during their conversation and break the bonds of his bashfulness."

"I hope so too," said Marie, "May is a really sweet girl, and she's gaga over Ed. If you ask me, after witnessing their habits, I would say that those two are a match made in heaven."

"I concur Marie," said Double Dee as he snickered and stepped out from under his covers onto the floor, "And I have no doubt that Ed is quite enamored with your sister as well. It all comes down to the matter of both of them breaking their shyness and admitting their true feelings for one another."

The couple shared a smile after which they both proceeded to redress themselves. After a few minutes, Marie and Double Dee had finally made themselves decent enough to return to the party. Double Dee quickly checked himself in his mirror for lint build up on his shirt, as Marie used her folding mirror to adjust her trademark lavender eye shadow.

"Come on cutie pie," said Marie as she placed her beauty supplies back into her purse. She stood up off of Double Dee's bed and walked over towards her boyfriend. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared up into his eyes.

"It's time to get back to the party." said Marie at which point she quickly kissed Double Dee on the lips. Marie giggled as she grabbed Double Dee's hand and led him to the door. Double Dee smiled as he passed through the threshold into the dim hallway, shutting the wooden door behind him.

Ed and May were currently sitting on Double Dee's black leather couch, enjoying each other's company. They had just returned from the kitchen and both were holding white plastic plates, as well as plastic forks. On Ed's plate sat several helpings of Ms. Kanker's lasagna, a hot dog (topped with gravy) and several pieces of over salted fried chicken. May had taken a portion of her mother's lasagna as well, in addition to two hot dogs topped with ketchup.

May took a large bite of her hotdog and placed it down on her plate as she chewed. She glanced over at Ed, who was currently stuffing his face with the lasagna as if he was enjoying it. Although May possessed some unusual and disgusting habits of her own, one of her pet peeves was people who talk with a mouthful of food. Because of this, she waited until she swallowed before questioning her boyfriend.

"How do you like my mom's lasagna Big Ed?" asked May as she smiled into Ed's face.

Ed surprisingly waited until he finished chewing his food, much to May's delight, before he replied.

"It's deciduous!" yelled Ed enthusiastically, after which he began shoveling the lasagna into his mouth once again. May chuckled as she continued eating her hotdog. Ed watched as May easily put away two thirds of her hotdog in a mere 20 seconds.

"Boy May," said Ed, "You sure do like hot dogs."

May swallowed, after which she turned to Ed with a smile.

"Yeah," said May, "They're my favorite. This is usually all we ever eat at home. Lee and Marie always complain about hotdogs cause we eat them so much, but I really don't see what is so bad about them."

Ed and May continued eating rather boorishly for a few seconds, during which time she caught sight of a pair of familiar brown high heeled boots, followed by black dress shoes descending the stairs.

"Look Ed," said May rather happily, "There's Double Dee and Marie!"

Ed turned towards the stairs to see his best friend and his girlfriend making their way down the red carpeted staircase. Ed smiled, as he couldn't wait to tell his best pal his good news.

Double Dee and Marie spotted Ed and May and proceeded to weave through various cliques of students as they made their way over to the couch to converse with their friends.

"Double Dee!" yelled Ed happily as he stood up off the couch to greet his pal with a friendly bear hug. Marie walked over towards her sister with a smile. The two girls shared a friendly hug after which May decided to playfully joke with her sister.

"And where have you two been for so long?" asked May with a serious yet playful stare on her face.

"Never mind that," said Marie with a grin on her face, "What have you been doing out on the back porch with Big Ed?"

May looked down towards her white slip on flats, her silver braces glistening in the light as she smiled. She twirled her blonde curls as she began to blush.

"Well?" asked Marie as she leaned down to attempt to look up into May's face.

"Well…" said May as she smiled at looked up into her sisters eyes, "He asked me to be his girlfriend."

"Yeah, and what did ya say?" asked Marie playfully.

"What do you think I said?" yelled May rather excitedly, "YES!"

Marie hugged May out of excitement. Both girls jumped up and down out of pure joy as Double Dee and Ed both looked on with smiles.

"Congratulations Ed!" said Double Dee, "I am glad to see that you have overcome your shyness and I wish you and May nothing but happiness in your romantic relationship."

"Awww," said Ed as he blushed and looked towards the ground, "Thanks Double Dee you're a pal!"

Marie and May ceased their embrace, allowing Marie to return to Double Dee's side. May walked over to Ed and wrapped her arms around his torso. She embraced him tightly, with her left cheek pressed against his chest due to the height difference. Ed blushed at May's display of affection, but didn't hesitate to place his arms around May as well, embracing her firmly. Double Dee placed his arm around Marie who leaned her head on his shoulder as he did so. Both teenagers smiled at their friend's accomplishment.

"Boy Double Dee!" yelled Ed in an excited manner, "I can't wait to tell Eddy. He will be so proud."

"Where is Eddy anyway?" asked May as she looked around the room, "I haven't seen him for around an hour."

"I'm sure he is somewhere around here," said Double Dee, "If I know Eddy, he is probably using his 'sweet moves' as he calls them to attempt to court females at this very moment!"

The group of four shared another laugh at Double Dee's joke at which point Ed noticed a familiar face walking towards him. In a speak-of-the -devil manner, Eddy emerged from the hallway leading to Double Dees den. He was no longer wearing his black sunglasses on his face; they were now hanging from the collar of his shirt by the joint connecting the temple to the lens frame. Much to everyone's surprise, Eddy was not alone. Walking next to him, and for the lack of a better term, towering over him was the beautiful Lee Kanker. The entire group watched as the oldest Kanker sister and the shortest Ed boy made their way out into the middle of the living room to join their friends.

"Geez Louis!" yelled Lee taking notice that everyone was staring at her and Eddy, "I know that I'm good lookin, but I never knew I was this popular!"

Lee glanced at each and every one of her peers. Double Dee stood with a smile on his face, while Ed stood next him with a dopey blank faced grin. It was no surprise that Lee was greeted with confused stares from her two little sisters upon being seen with Eddy.

"Alright!" yelled Lee, "Before everyone starts asking questions, I'm just gonna come out and say it. I like Eddy and he likes me got it!"

Marie and May looked into each other's eyes with confusion before turning back towards their oldest sister.

"Say what?" said May and Marie simultaneously.

"What are ya deaf!" yelled Lee as she leaned into their faces, cupping her hands over her mouth as if attempting to amplify the sound. She began speaking in a slow and deliberate manner as if to make fun of her little sister's intelligences.

"Eddy is my boyfriend!" yelled Lee, "I am his girlfriend!"

May and Marie glanced at each other once again, before turning back towards their sister. They quickly glanced at Eddy, who was staring towards the floor while blushing.

"Wait a minute," said Marie, "You and Eddy?"

"Jesus Christ," said Lee, "You're acting like I commited a freakin murder!"

Lee stood erect once more and playfully leaned her forearm on Eddy's head, an easy feat considering their difference in height. Eddy, who would usually become furious at any action that he felt insulted his height, was rather indifferent to Lee's "display of affection". Eddy couldn't help but smile, as he knew Lee's action was just her way of saying "I like you."

"Alright listen up all of ya!" said Lee, "I've been talking to this little man right here for about the past hour, and realized that he's actually a pretty okay guy."

Lee leaned down until her face was directly next to Eddy's

"And underneath all of that macho man attitude is the biggest sweet heart on planet earth!" said Lee playfully as she pinched Eddy's cheeks.

The entire clique continued staring at Eddy and Lee in a perpetual state of confusion. They could not believe that Eddy was willingly standing next to Lee, let alone allowing her to touch him.

Double Dee eventually walked over towards Eddy and placed his arm on his shoulder, looking down into his eyes.

"Eddy?" asked Double Dee, "Is this true?"

Eddy blushed heavily as he stared up into his best friends eyes. After a few moments, Eddy offered some words of his own.

"Yep," said Eddy, "It's true. It looks like I finally fell hard for a girl and I finally found that special feeling you've been telling me about for the last couple weeks. I guess I was looking in all of the wrong places."

Double Dee smiled into his best friends eyes.

"Congratulation Eddy!" said Double Dee calmly as he held his hand out to shake Eddy's hand.

"Thanks pal." said Eddy as he firmly shook Double Dees hand, after which he pulled his friend into a brotherly hug, "I don't know what I'd do without ya!"

"WE HAVE ALL FOUND LOVE!" yelled Ed as he rushed over to his best friends in an excited manner. He quickly placed both of his best friends in headlocks as all three boys shared smiles and laughs.

Lee watched as the boys had their fun, after which she turned back towards her little sisters. Both were standing with their hips relaxed, and their faces were adorned with sly grins.

"What?" asked Lee as she ran her fingers through her long curls.

"Whatever happened to 'men are evil' and 'I'll never settle for one man'" said Marie with a smile on her face.

"Don't test me Marie!" yelled Lee playfully, "Times change."

Marie and May giggled at Lee's statement. Lee leaned down into both of their ears.

"You are never going to believe it," said Lee, "But all's we did in our time alone was talk for an hour about our problems. I opened up to him about my past, and he didn't judge me at all for it. He opened up to me and told me some things about himself too. He's a really nice guy, he just needed someone to help him realize that for himself. I'm glad I was the one to do it."

Lee leaned away from her sisters and winked, causing them to chuckle slightly.

"Oh, and we kissed, bu…."

"OOOOHHHHH!" yelled Marie and May jokingly, causing Lee to blush and giggle. The girls spent the next few seconds sharing excited laughs, after which Lee chimed in once again.

"Alright!" said Lee, "Enough about me, let's hear about May and her man!"

May and Ed spent the next ten minutes telling their friends about the wonderful night they had shared out on Double Dee's back porch. The Ed's and the Kanker's were so lost in the moments they were sharing together that they had failed to realize just how important the moment actually was. Absolutely no one would have suspected that the Ed's would have ever taken the Kanker sisters as they girlfriends, after the way they had treated them over the last few years. The Ed's had not even given much thought to the fact that the girls they were holding in their arms were once their worst nightmare, as the girls had changed so much personality wise that the Ed's simply did not recognize them as the hate filled bullies they had to put up with for a year and a half.

Just as the merriment between the group of teenagers was dying down, the sound of _Brick House_, by the Commodores began filling the air.

"Well what the hell are we standing around here for?" asked Lee, "Let's party!"

Lee grabbed a hold of Eddy's hand.

"Come dance with me with sexy stud," said Lee as she began pulling Eddy, who had a smile on his face, into the middle of the dance floor.

May and Marie stood with their boyfriends watching her sister dance with Eddy. Eddy danced as he always did, rocking his hips back and forth while snapping his fingers. Lee was moving her feet around as she moved her hips back and forth, singing the lyrics playfully as her red curls bounced around.

Marie in particular couldn't help but smile seeing her sister having so much fun. Marie could not remember the last time she had seen Lee's face filled with an expression of pure joy, and she was glad that she was able to see Lee enjoying life once again.

On that note, Marie turned to Double Dee, who was watching Eddy with a smile as well. She wrapped her arms around his neck and stared up into his blue eyes.

"How's about we join them cutie?" asked Marie.

"I would love to Marie," said Double Dee, "But I'm afraid that I do not possess dancing experience of any kind."

"Don't worry cutie!" said Marie as she smiled, "I can't dance either. Let's just have fun together no matter what happens."

Marie grabbed Double Dees hand and looked up into his eyes.

"Let's kick it!" said Marie playfully after which she kissed Double Dee on the cheek and began leading him over to where Lee and Eddy were dancing.

Double Dee was quite worried about looking like a fool on the dance floor, but he knew from his experience with Marie that he could always trust her. And even if he did make himself look like a fool, he would be doing it with the most beautiful woman on the planet.

May, who was currently standing next to her 'Big Ed' watched as her sisters had fun with their boyfriends. She couldn't resist joining in on the action.

"Come on Ed!" yelled May as she grabbed Ed's hand, "Let's go have some fun!"

Ed knew in his mind that he couldn't dance, and was reluctant to join May out on the dance floor. Nevertheless, he soon found himself imitating dance moves that he had seen on television, while May simply jumped up and down awkwardly to the music. Marie was attempting to imitate Lee's dancing, although she had plenty of problems loosing up. The same was true for Double Dee, who was dancing very much like he did on the day Marie videotaped him as he attempted to remove the hat brim that Marie had put on his waist to imitate a hula skirt. Marie chuckled at her boyfriend's attempts to dance, as Double Dee giggled at her failed attempts at dancing as well. Although Tabby had taught her daughters several ballet maneuvers, their classical training did not help them one bit when it came to contemporary dance. Nevertheless, all three girls had the most fun they had ever had in their lives, as they danced the night away with their beloved Ed's.


	65. Chapter 65

**Chapter 65**

In the midst of the exciting and fun-filled moments they were sharing, the teenagers had neglected the fact that father time's perpetual clock never ceased, even for something as powerful as love. After a long exciting night of dancing, shared secrets, and blossoming romances, Eddy's big party was finally over.

By 11:00, all of the students from Peach Creek Junior High had already left, and the only guests remaining were the Ed's and their three girlfriends. Kevin and Nazz were on their way out the front door and Double Dee was sure to see them off.

"Sweet party dude!" said Nazz as she walked out the door, "We had a blast, thanks Double Dee!"

"See ya later Double Dee," said Kevin as he patted Double Dee on his back and followed Nazz out the door

"Thank you two for coming, and I am glad that you had a spectacular evening," said Double Dee as he watched Kevin and Nazz make their way down his gravel path. The couple shared a kiss in front of Double Dees house, after which they made their way to their separate homes to escape the cold, nippy winter air.

Double Dee closed the door behind him and turned around to face his friends. At that moment he was greeted by a sight that he would never thought to have seen in his life. Ed sat on Double Dees tan living room armchair in an ordinary position, as May sat on his lap with her legs draped over one of the armrests. Her head was resting on Ed's chest, while Ed had his left arm wrapped around her shoulder. Eddy sat on Double Dees couch with a grin on his face next to Lee. Lee was sitting on the sides of her legs, which were bent and curled up on the couch. Her position caused her to lean into Eddy, who had his right arm draped around her shoulder. Double Dee couldn't help but smile upon seeing everyone sharing a beautiful and affectionate moment together.

Although the sight of his friends enjoying their time with their girlfriends brought a smile to his face, it was the sight of his own beautiful girlfriend sitting on his loveseat that truly made him feel blessed for this moment. He stood near his front door, captivated by his black haired girlfriend's beauty as she smiled while twirling her hair.

Marie glanced over at her two sisters sitting happily in their new boyfriends arms and decided that it was time to joke with her mesmerized boyfriend.

"Double Dee," said Marie as she displayed a "puppy dog frown" and patted the couch next to her, "I'm getting jealous, come over here and snuggle with me."

Double Dee smiled at his girlfriend, at which point he began making his way towards the loveseat.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world Marie." said Double Dee as he sat down on the couch next to Marie.

Marie wasted no time and moved closer to Double Dee at the precise moment that he had placed all of his weight onto the cushion. Marie assumed a position similar to Lee's, and leaned her head on Double Dee's shoulder, but not before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

The three couples sat in silence, enjoying each other's company. The loud music that played from Double' Dee's speakers continuously for hours was replaced by near complete silence, as only the sounds of slight movements from the teenagers, and the airflow from a floor mounted heating vent near the sofa filled the air. Even though none of the youngsters could have been any happier than they were at this very moment, there was still a slight feeling of awkwardness between them.

After around five minutes of silence, it was of course the voicetress Lee who decided to break it. She snickered gently.

"Crazy night huh?" asked Lee in a rather gentle voice.

Every single one of the teenagers in the room nodded their head and affirmed Lee's statement. Lee looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone as she began speaking with a lady-like voice that made her sound rather enchanting.

"You know it's funny, I had never even thought that I would see the day that you boys weren't running away from us screaming for your lives." said Lee, "And now look at us, laying up with each other on couches, it's almost like a dream.."

Lee smiled as she looked into Eddy's brown eyes.

"And I'm just so glad that my little handsome man is finally returning my advances!" said Lee as she giggled.

Eddy gave Lee a smile of his own, blushing as he did so. Lee was absolutely right about Eddy, he was no Casanova. In fact, one could tell if Eddy was attracted to a female just by observing Eddy's behavior around her. When Eddy was truly attracted to a girl, he had a terrible habit of not being able to form words, which was exactly what was happening at this very moment. Before Eddy had even had a chance to retort Marie quickly chimed in with a joke towards her sister.

"So now you finally believe in relationships all of the sudden?" asked Marie jokingly.

"Marie you are lucky I am in too good a mood to give ya the back of my hand!" yelled Lee playfully after which she chuckled, "And besides, what about all of that bull you tried to feed us about your taste in men since we moved here?"

Lee leaned forward slightly. She brushed a portion of her red curly hair over her right eye, and raised the pitch of her voice slightly. She added a cackle-like overtone to it as if to make fun of her sister Marie.

"I like cheaters!" said Lee as she grinned at Marie, "I like bad boys and slobs! But for some reason I'm crushing hard on one of the most clean, thoughtful, respectful guys on the planet!"

All three Ed's, including Double Dee, as well as May began laughing hysterically at Lee's joke. Marie simply blushed while staring down at her feet slightly annoyed.

"Come on Marie," said Lee, still snickering from her joke, "You think I'm stupid or something? I knew all of that was just a load of crap, just like that whole punk thing with the blue hair you pulled for the last few years."

The teenagers shared a laugh once again. Marie could no longer control herself and began laughing along with her boyfriend, as well as her sisters. Lee's statement could not be further from the truth. Marie had always longed for a sweet, kind hearted man that would treat her right deep down inside. Luckily she has found her special man in her amazing boyfriend Double Dee.

Marie decided to retaliate to Lee's statement with an explanation.

"Well what was I supposed to do?" asked Marie, "You fed us all of that crap about how (Marie deepened her voice to make fun of Lee's domineering voice) 'men don't amount to anything but a pile of dirt' and stuff like that. I had no choice to play along to please you!"

Lee snickered.

"I'm glad to know to know that you respected my authority enough to want to please me!" yelled Lee jokingly, after which she stuck her tongue out towards Marie playfully. Marie returned a tongue lashing of her own.

The two girls found themselves in a playful argument. As they traded insults about the reasons for them finally displaying their true colors, May did what she usually did in a crisis such as this and intervened.

"GUYS!" yelled May as she sat on Ed's lap in her adenoidal voice. "Who cares how it happened, or why it happened. The important thing is that we are all here together in each other's arms right now!"

May's words, although simple, struck a powerful chord with her older siblings. She was absolutely right. No one in the room could explain exactly how or why things have turned out the way they have. Nevertheless, what really did matter was that everyone was finally together in peace.

There was a moment of silence as the teenagers reflected on May's simple yet powerful words, after which Double Dee decided to chime in with a statement of his own.

"I suppose it is a question of faith." said Double Dee as he folded his hands on his lap, "I strongly believe that every event that occurs in this universe is somehow coordinated for a specific reason. For whatever reason it may be, fate has brought us all together on this very night. There is simply no denying the fact that over the course of the past three weeks, each and every one of us has reflected upon ourselves. Due to the various circumstances we were faced with over that period, we have bonded emotionally and managed to learn many things about each other. I am sure that if there is one thing that I have learned from all of this, it is to never judge someone merely by their outward actions."

Double Dee turned towards Marie and placed his hand on her smiling face.

"If I would have continued to judge Marie by the way she initially treated me, I would have missed out on the most spectacular young woman on planet Earth."

Double Dee kissed Marie on the forehead, after which he turned toward his friends who were still sitting next to their girlfriends.

"And I do believe that Ed and Eddy have learned this lesson as well." said Double Dee as he smiled at his friends.

There was a moment of silence after Double Dee's words as the rest of the teenagers attempted to absorb them.

"Double Dee," said Eddy, "For once I actually understood every single word that you said, and I couldn't agree more."

Eddy winked towards his best friend, after which he leaned in and pecked Lee on her cheek. She involuntarily twirled her red curls after Eddy's kiss and blushed as she looked towards the floor. Marie couldn't help but smile seeing her sister demonstrate the same feelings for Eddy that she had for Double Dee.

"We are all united as one!" yelled Ed in his dopey voice, after which he embraced May rather tightly, causing her to smile. She leaned into Ed's face and touched her lips to his, forgetting that she was in front of her sisters and the other two Ed's. Neither May nor Ed seemed to mind that they were sharing affections in front of others as they were completely lost in each other's sensual gaze.

By the time the Kankers and Ed's had finished conversing about their wild night, the elegant grandfather clock situated in Double Dee's living room was displaying a time of 11:30.

"Geez Louis!" said Lee, "That late already!"

Marie glanced up at the clock herself.

"Wow," said Marie, "As much as I don't want to, we better get going."

"Yeah," said May, "We told Mom we'd be home at 10:30."

All three girls stood up from their comfortable positions onto Double Dee's hardwood floor. Each girl performed a stretch, after which they picked up their purses, waiting for their boyfriends to walk them to the front door. As the boys and girls shared light conversations and laughs, Double Dee opened the large brown door, welcoming a blast of bone chilling winter air into the house.

The girls walked out onto Double Dee's front stoop, turning around upon crossing the threshold. Marie and Lee decided to wait on the large stoop for their boyfriends, while May opted to seek more room on Double Dee's gravel path. In the seconds that followed, all three Eds had joined their respective girlfriends to exchange "goodnights" and "goodbyes".

Double Dee stared down into his beautiful girlfriend's green eyes as he smiled joyously. Marie smiled back into Double Dees eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips.

"I don't care what it was that brought us together," said Marie with a heartfelt smile, "I'm just so glad that it did."

"Me too," said Double Dee as he ran his fingers through Marie's black hair.

"I love you Annemarie," said Double Dee.

"I love you too Edward," said Marie as she leaned into Double Dees face, kissing him once again. The couple held each other in a firm embrace as they shared their goodnight kiss under the moonlit sky.

May and Ed were currently sharing their own separate goodbye down on Double Dee's gravel path.

"I really liked hanging out with you Ed," said May as she blushed.

"Me too May," said Ed, "You are the greatest!"

"Aww," said May, "You're so sweet! I think you're the best boyfriend in this whole wide world."

Ed and May stared at each other for a few seconds, both blushing as they contemplated whether or not they should kiss. May eventually decided that it was the right thing to do. She tip toed to touch her lips to Ed's as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Ed closed his eyes, enjoying his kiss, while he placed his hands on May's hips, pulling her body closer to his.

Eddy and Lee were currently standing a few feet away from Double Dee and Marie's position, sharing heartfelt goodbyes just as their peers were.

"Listen Eddy," said Lee as she leaned down into Eddy's face, "I have to really thank you for being there for me. It really meant a lot to me that you cared enough to comfort me and to not judge me for all of those things I told you."

Eddy looked up into Lee's eyes, a pair of sparkling blue jewels that Eddy had not been able to see clearly until tonight. Lee was absolutely beautiful. Her long red curls were flowing in the brisk wind as she cocked her hip to the side and smiled down at her short stubby boyfriend. Eddy couldn't help but once again check her entire body out from head to toe.

Although Eddy was captivated by Lee's beauty and tended to mix words up around girls that he thought were cute, one thing was certain. Eddy really liked Lee, and it was time for him to break his hidden fear of girls. He decided to use words to express his true feelings for his girlfriend.

"Sure," said Eddy, "Thank you for being there for me and letting me get all of that stuff off of my chest. I am so glad I walked into that den earlier tonight, cause if I didn't I would have missed out on real hot babe, inside and out."

Lee smiled and blushed at her boyfriends words. Even though Eddy had used his usual foolish speech patterns to compliment Lee, his words were truly heartfelt. After a few seconds, Eddy glanced back up into Lee's eyes, at which point he involuntarily uttered a few more words

"You are so beautiful Annalee," said Eddy in a dreamy voice.

It took a few seconds for Eddy to comprehend what he had just done. He could not believe that he had spoken his mind and promptly began sweating upon realizing he had let out words that were meant to be kept hidden.

Eddy looked up into Lee eyes, which were glistening as if she was about to tear up. Eddy had no idea how much it had meant to Lee to be called beautiful by a boy and it meant even more to Lee that it was Eddy who complemented her appearance.

"Thanks Eddy," said Lee, "I have to say that you are lookin' pretty handsome yourself tonight."

Eddy smiled as Lee began leaning down towards his face. In an almost comical fashion, Eddy found himself in the reverse situation of Ed and May. While May's short stature had forced her to tip toe, Eddy was forced to do the same in order to kiss his girlfriend goodnight. Regardless of the circumstances, Lee and Eddy's kiss was filled with just as much passion as the other two couples kisses were. Lee and Eddy had never imagined the day that they would be standing out in the open air sharing a kiss; although they both enjoyed every minute of it.

After a few seconds, the Ed's were finally finished saying their goodbyes to their girlfriends. Ed and Eddy joined Double Dee, standing in his doorway as the girls turned around to begin making their way back to the trailer park.

"See ya boys!" yelled all three girls simultaneously, after which they giggled.

The Ed's were so captivated by their girlfriends beauty, that all's they could do was wave and say a long drawn out "Bye!"

The three girls walked side by side across Rathink Avenue. Lee walked in the middle, carrying her black purse in her left hand, as her sisters Marie and May joined her on the left and right sides respectively. All three Ed's admired the girls swaying hips as they made their way towards the corner. From the moment the girls turned around to begin their trek home, to the moment they passed around the corner, the Ed's eyes did not miss a thing.

The girls reached the corner and proceeded down the cross street, but not before each of them stopped and exchanged a final smile with their boyfriends.

Once the girls were out of sight, Ed, Edd and Eddy reentered Double Dees house in silence. Double Dee slowly but surely shut the large door behind him, sealing his living room from the bone chilling air.

"Well I suppose Lee was correct when she said that this party would be a 'night to remember'." said Double Dee as he began gathering empty soda cans off of his coffee table.

"I'll say," said Eddy in dream like voice as he helped his friend.

"I'm glad to see that you are contributing to my effort to rid my residence of the remnants from the party." said Double Dee

"Hey, I promised ya didn't I?" said Eddy, grinning as he walked he trash he was holding to the kitchen receptacle.

"And besides," yelled Eddy from the kitchen, "Now that we all got girls, we gotta keep this place clean so they can come hang with us next weekend."

There was a momentary silence, after which Eddy yelled from the kitchen once again.

"Yo Double Dee, where are your trash bags?" asked Eddy, "It'll probably be easier just to bring a bag out there instead of constantly walking out into the kitchen."

Double Dee paused momentarily before answering Eddy's question.

"Oh, there is a whole box of contractor bags in the garage!" yelled Double Dee, "They should be located on the shelf next to my chemicals!"

"Alright, be right back, thanks!" yelled Eddy.

Double Dee was absolutely speechless at this very moment. It seemed as though he had just spoken to an entire different teenager, rather than the Eddy McGee he had come to know during all of the years he had lived in Peach Creek. Eddy had just demonstrated helpfulness, politeness and courtesy, not to mention commons sense; traits which were completely uncharacteristic of him. Eddy seemed to have suddenly matured mentally over the course of the last few hours, and although Double Dee was proud of him for doing so, he soon realized that Eddy was simply high on the same drug that Double Dee was on when he first met Marie; love.

Double Dee's thoughts were broken by a tap on his shoulder. He turned and looked upward to see Ed standing next to him, holding a large bag of potato chips that he had just closed up.

"Um Double Dee," asked Ed, "Where do these go?"

Ed held up the bag of chips, all the while displaying his usual happy-go-lucky expression.

Double Dee smiled at his other best friend's display of helpfulness.

"Allow me Ed," said Double Dee as he took the chips off of his friend and began walking them out into the kitchen.

The Ed's spent the next half hour restoring Double Dees' house to pristine condition, all the while sharing laughs and jokes as they always had. By the time they were finished, Double Dee's grandfather clock indicted that it was in fact midnight. Eddy had called his and Ed's parents to tell them that they were sleeping over Double Dees house. The boys decided to spend their time in Double Dee's den, watching movies and conversing about the wild night they had just shared with their new girlfriends, who had happened to be their previous tormentors.

Double Dee had thought that it would have taken Ed a couple more years before he finally had the courage to enter a romantic relationship with a girl, but was nevertheless proud of his always bubbly friend's accomplishment. Eddy, who had lived by the belief that women are to be treated like objects and claimed to never want to settle down, had broken the promises he had made to himself tonight. Eddy truly admired Lee, and even though he was extremely turned on by her "true" appearance, it was her extremely lady-like and honest personality that won his heart.

The boys spent the rest of their night sharing laughs, eating snacks, drinking sodas and joking with each other about their sudden change of heart towards the Kanker sisters. All jokes aside, the three boys were truly ecstatic about their romantic involvement with the trio of sisters.


	66. Chapter 66

**Chapter 66**

Around the same time that Ed, Edd and Eddy were beginning the process of tidying up Double Dees extremely disheveled home, May, Marie and Lee had found themselves standing at the entrance to the Park n' Flush trailer park. The trek across the sandy construction site was quite arduous for Lee and Marie, both being unaccustomed to the high heeled boots they were wearing. The gravely soil of the trailer park was not any easier to walk on than the sandy construction site. Luckily for the girls, May had chosen to wear flats, and was able to comfortably assist her older sisters on their journey home.

Although the inconvenience their boots provided was quite aggravating to Marie and Lee, they along with the much more comfortable May, felt as though a huge burden had been lifted off of their shoulders tonight. The girls were speaking rather excitedly about their nights with their boyfriends; each one of them was so excited that they consistently cut each other off mid story. It was truly a rare and unforeseen moment, as all three girls were smiling from ear to ear out of pure joy.

The girl's extreme excitement had clouded their thoughts and caused them to lose track of time. In what seemed like seconds, they had already arrived within 30 feet of the silver and blue 60's style caravan that they had called home. As the girls continued their discussion, they had neglected to notice that Rod's red Ford F-250 was parked in front of their trailer, bathed in the yellow hue of light emitted by the trailer parks solitary fixture. The girls simply walked around it, and approached the front door leading into their trailer.

The trailer stoop was illuminated by the light small fixture that was mounted above the door, just as it always was when Tabby was expecting the girls back late. Lee was finishing up her story of how her and Eddy shared their first real kiss, at which point she began opening the screen door. The girls silenced themselves for a few seconds as Lee finagled the handle on the inner door, which often was tough to open from the outside. Surprisingly, she was able to find the sweet spot rather quickly and proceeded to open the door.

The girls quickly funneled into the trailer. The living room was quite dark, and the only source of light came from the intermittent glow from the television. Tabby had usually shut out the lights when she watched movies, to attempt to replicate the feeling of a movie theater as much as possible. With a quick flip of the wall mounted switch next to the door, the lamps located on both ends of the couch illuminated the living room with a warm, yet dim glow.

Of course, all of this had happened within seconds of opening the door. Unbeknownst to the girls, Tabby had been having quite the unexpected night as well. In addition, she and Rod had managed to lose track of time and had not quite expected to hear the sound of the trailer door opening.

"Oh shit, girls!" yelled Tabby as she jumped from her position straddling Rods lap, tripping over the coffee table and almost falling flat on her face as well. In the midst of their heated moment, Rod had begun sliding his hands under Tabby's shirt, exposing her midsection. She quickly pulled her shirt down over her exposed stomach blushing out of pure embarrassment.

Just as Tabby jumped up, Rod had jumped off of the couch equally as surprised and embarrassed. He quickly flattened his hair, which was sticking up due to Tabby vigorously running her hands through it as she made out with him.

"Daddy?" asked all of the girls with extremely surprised looks on their faces.

Tabby, Rod and the girls stood with red faces staring at each other awkwardly for a few seconds. Rod finally decided to break the silence and pretend as if none of it had ever happened.

"Howdy girls." said Rod, "I got done work late tonight so I decided to swing by to drop off some money and talk to Annalee about her trip. You girls weren't here and Mom invited me stay until you got home."

By this time, Rod had finally regained his senses. After a quick glance at his daughters, he realized that Tabby's words about her daughters looking beautiful were quite true.

"You were right Tab," said Rod as he turned around to face Tabby with a smile, after which he turned around to face his daughters once again, "You girls look beautiful tonight."

"Thank you Daddy." said all three girls simultaneously.

Rod playfully turned around to Tabby with a confused look on his face, and proceeded to place his hand up to his ear facing his daughters.

"Excuse me?" said Rod playfully, "Was that a thank you?"

The girls giggled at Rods joke while looking towards the ground.

"Didn't I tell ya?" said Tabby.

"No no this can't be right," said Rod as he walked up to each of his daughters, feeling their heads as if checking for a fever, "What could be causing these unusual symptoms?"

All three Kanker girls giggled at Rods slightly cheesy joke, just as they had done at his jokes when they were little girls. Seeing the girls smiling and sharing a laugh made Rod feel like the happiest dad in the world, as he had not heard pure chuckles of joy out of his girls in years, especially Lee.

"I'm tellin ya!" said Tabby playfully as she lit a cigarette. She quickly puffed it, holding it between her index and middle finger and blew out the exhaust as she spoke, "I just know those Ed's had something to do with it!"

The girls blushed at the sound of the Ed's names. They were quite embarrassed that Tabby had told Rod about their wild adventures with the Ed's, but nevertheless shared a laugh with their mother and father about the whole situation.

"So," said Tabby as she puffed her cigarette, "How was Double Dee's party anyway?"

The girls paused and looked at each other with smiles on their face. Rod and Tabby both shot joyous smiles at each other as they witnessed their daughter's happiness reborn. It hadn't been two seconds when May decided to chime in with a joke.

"Lee's got a boyfriend! Lee's got a boyfriend!" chanted May rather loudly while pointing to her sister.

"Alright so what if I do?" yelled a slightly embarrassed Lee, "But what were you doing out on the back porch all night with Big Ed hmmmm?"

Lee and Marie let out a long drawn out, "OOOOOOOOHHHHHH" after which they giggled at an extremely embarrassed and blushing May.

Tabby and Rod looked at each other and giggled as they observed their girls teasing each other. Both parents had witnessed the girls teasing each other before, however the words they used were often insults intended to be used with malicious intent. The girls were now mocking each other in a playful manner and behaving much more sisterly than they previously had. As the girls clowned around with each other, Rod and Tabby couldn't help but notice that the girls were behaving just as if they were grown up versions of the sweet little girls they knew before they started school. Both parents couldn't have been happier for their children.

As the girls continued to playfully bicker, Tabby shot a wink at Rod as she puffed her cigarette.

"Alright!" yelled Tabby playfully in a voice that sounded eerily similar to Marie's yet contained the powerful voicetress inflections of Lee. She walked over to the couch and took a seat. "Let's hear all about it."

Rod took a seat on the couch next to Tabby as he began listening to the girls' stories about their night at the party. Of course, each girl did not tell their own story. The girls spent their time telling each other's stories, adding playful details all the while embarrassing each other. Once they had finished, Rod and Tabby shared a chuckle on the couch.

"Looks like I got a couple more boyfriends to meet huh Tab?" said Rod.

"Looks like it," said Tab as she smiled.

"They always say that a father's worst nightmare is finding out that their precious little girls have gotten boyfriends," said Rod as he smiled towards his daughters, "I just see it as nature's way of telling me that my little girls are finally growing up into beautiful young ladies."

All three Kanker sisters shared a heartfelt smile with their father, after which Tabby chimed in.

"And don't worry Roddy," said Tabby, "We already know that Annemarie's got a good guy. These other two Ed's have to be something special in order for these witches to come home smiling from ear to ear!"

Tabby, Rod and the girls all giggled at Rod's joke. Although the girls were truly having fun, all three of them were currently thinking the same thing in the back of their mind. Tabby had not used the word "Roddy" to refer to Rod since they had broken up. Could this, as well as that kiss they witnessed mean that reconciliation is in the works?

After a few moments, the laughter died down, at which point Rod glanced at his watch. It was quarter to midnight, and he had already spent much more time at Tabby's trailer than he had expected. Although his stay was overdue, he couldn't have been happier for the wonderful night he was able to share with his entire family.

"Alright, it's getting pretty late!" said Rod as he stood up and adjusted his jeans. He reached for his wallet and keys from the coffee table. "I better get home so you girls can get some shut eye."

Rod walked over to where his three daughters were standing and approached each of them one by one for a personal goodbye.

Lee happened to be first in line. The first thing that Rod noticed about Lee was her height; she was already a rather tall girl, but her heels had skyrocketed her height to around 5' 9", two inches shorter than Rod.

"It's funny how time flies," said Rod with a slight tear in his eye, "I can remember how small you were the first time Mom brought me home to meet you. I could hold you in my arms no problem. Now look at you, you're practically as tall as me."

Rod glanced at Lee's red curly extensions. She had promised herself that she would re grow her real hair out to the length that her extensions alluded it to be. She wanted her long hair back more than anything, and could not believe she had sacrificed it as part as some ridiculous bullying charade.

"You look beautiful tonight Annalee," said Rod, "In a few weeks, I'll have my 'Reds' back again."

Rod kissed Lee on the forehead and smiled at his eldest daughter. He had addressed her as 'Reds' a nickname he had bestowed on her as a child due to her bright red hair.

"Thank you Daddy." said Lee softly as she smiled.

Rod moved on to his middle daughter. First and foremost, he was extremely happy that Marie had rid herself of her emo/punk persona within the last few weeks. It broke his heart to see his daughter dressing in a depressing black everyday for four years, as well as seeing her beautiful silky smooth black hair go to waste by being colored blue. Nevertheless, he was quite content seeing his middle daughter restored to her natural appearance.

"You don't know how happy I am that you got rid of all of that fake punk crap," said Rod as he smiled, "I knew that wasn't the real you Annemarie. You look beautiful tonight as well, and I'm glad to have you back."

Rod gave Marie a kiss on the forehead, just as he had done to his eldest daughter.

"Thanks Daddy," said Marie in an equally soft tone.

Rod finally reached his youngest daughter May.

"And look at you Annamae," said Rod, "Finally on your way to a perfect smile with those braces. You look beautiful tonight and I can't wait to see that gorgeous smile when those braces come off."

Rod kissed May on the forehead.

"Thanks Daddy," said May as she smiled.

"Alright," said Rod as he held his arms out, "Family hug, you too Tab!"

Rod embraced all three of his daughters as well as Tabby for a few moments. The entire Kanker-Lonergan family couldn't have been happier, as it had been around ten years since they had last shown their love for each other.

"I love you girls so much." said Rod.

"I love you too Daddy," replied all three girls simultaneously.

The family embraced for a few more seconds, after which Rod decided it was time to leave.

"Alright, let me get out of here," said Rod as he walked towards the door and opened it, "I'll see you girls later."

"Bye Daddy!" yelled all three girls as they waved.

Rod passed through the threshold and stepped down the short stoop onto the rocky ground. Tabby had followed him outside and closed the inner door behind her, isolating her and Rod from the girls in an attempt to achieve privacy. The Kanker sisters, being the girls they are, glanced at each other and then promptly dashed over to the window to spy on their mother and fathers conversation.

The girls watched as Rod turned around to face Tabby, dangling his keys in his hand.

"Quite a wild night huh?" said Rod.

"Yep," said Tabby as she smiled, "Quite a night."

"Tab," said Rod, "You don't know how happy it makes me seeing them flourish once again. They've changed back into our girls Tab. I don't know exactly what happened, but I'm glad it did."

"Me too," said Tabby, "I'm glad we finally have our girls back."

Rod paused for a few seconds, after which he grabbed Tabby's hand with both of his while he looked into her eyes.

"I know," said Rod rather quietly, "And I would really enjoy having "us" back as well."

Tabby smiled as her eyes began tearing up.

"So would I," said Tabby as she smiled.

"Let's not waste any time rebuilding," said Rod as he let go of Tabby's hands, "How's about I pick you and the girls up tomorrow night and we all have a nice turkey dinner at my house?"

Tabby smiled into Rods eyes.

"I would really like that Rod," said Tabby as she blushed.

"Great," said Rod as he smiled, "Is it okay if I pick you up around 5?"

"Yeah, that's fine." said Tabby, giggling slightly like a school girl who had just been asked out by the most popular guy in school.

"Great," said Rod as he smiled.

"Great," said Tabby softly as she began twirling her hair.

Rod and Tabby stood in silence for a few seconds.

"Listen Tab," said Rod, "I just wanna say I'm sorry fo…."

Tabby grabbed Rod from his shirt collar, and leaned into his face, demonstrating once again that Marie had inherited her methods of handling men from her mother.

"Just shut up and kiss me goodnight Roddy." said Tabby in a soft voice.

At that moment Rod smiled and pressed his lips into Tabby's. The girls watched in surprise from their window as their parents shared a passionate kiss under the moonlight. Tabby wrapped her arms around Rods neck and pulled him closer to her. After a few seconds, Lee motioned with her head for her sisters to leave the window with a grin on her face.

"I love you Rod," said Tabby rather abruptly. Tabby did truly love Rod, but she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed that those words have slipped out of her mouth so soon after their reunion.

Rod leaned down into Tabby's face with a smile.

"I love you too Tib, and I always have!" said Rod.

Tabby's eyes began to tear up out of joy as she pressed her lips to her boyfriends once again. After around five minutes, Rod had finally pulled away and bid Tabby farewell. Tabby watched from her stoop as Rod stepped into his truck, started it up, and pulled briskly out of the trailer park, but not before waving a final goodbye to his love.

Tabby stood on the stoop for a few seconds after Rods truck disappeared from view. She could not believe that the moments she had just experienced were real. She felt as if she was in a dream as she opened the inner door and reentered her warm trailer.

Tabby shut the door with a smile on her face, and sighed dreamily at the sound of the door latching. Her euphoria was soon broken as she turned around to face the couch.

On the couch sat May, Marie and Lee, all sitting directly next to each other. Each of them had their legs crossed, their right legs draping over their left, as well as their hands folded on their thighs. Each girl was staring at Tabby with a playful grin. Tabby took notice that one of the kitchen table chairs had been moved into the living room and was directly facing the couch where her girls were sitting.

"What?" asked Tabby in a confused manner, even though she knew exactly what was on her daughters minds.

The girls simply continued grinning at Tabby.

"Don't you look at me like that!" yelled Tabby playfully, yet sternly as she pointed her finger towards her daughters with an angry facial expression.

"So mom?" said Lee as she motioned her hand towards the single dining room chair, "Why don't you sit down and tell us about your night!"

Tabby sighed playfully and smiled as she took a seat in the wooden chair, preparing for a very interesting interrogation from her daughters.

"So," said Marie, "What happened?"

Tabby grinned at her middle daughter, after which she began telling her story.

"Nothing much," said Tabby as she smiled, "We just talked, watched a movie, ate popcorn, oh and we kissed, but after th….."

"OOOOHHHH!" yelled all three girls simultaneously.

"Here it comes." said Tabby under her breath sarcastically.

"Go Mom, Go Mom, Go Mom!" chanted all three girls all the while smiling at their mother. Tabby blushed at her daughters ways of congratulating her.

"Alright Alright!" yelled Tabby in a playful manner, "Geez Louis, you girls are my daughters and you're interrogating me like I'm your kid!"

Tabby giggled.

"So how about I listen to you tell me more about this big party you went to tonight." said Tabby.

Tabby sat and listened to her daughters talk about the fun night they had had at Double Dee's house, of course teasing each other all along the way about their boyfriends. As Tabby sat and listened to her daughters stories of the fun they had, she couldn't help but tear up. She had missed so much in these beautiful girls lives, and had regretted not being there for them as a mother as much as she should have been. Even though she regretted the past, her girl's actions in addition to her reconciliation with Rod had allowed her to realize that the future is once again bright for her family. With that realization Tabby's tears of sadness, transformed into tears of joy.

By the time the extremely rambunctious girls had finished telling their stories, it was 1:00 a.m, time for everyone to go to bed. Tabby offered the girls the bedroom, as "they deserved it" after the wonderful night they had in addition to finally drawing out of the emotional shells they had created for themselves.

Lee, Marie and May had already changed into their pajamas and climbed into their King sized bed. They assumed their usual positions, with Lee in the middle of the bed, Marie on her right, and May on her left. As the girls drifted off to sleep, they couldn't have been more proud of themselves. They had finally escaped the clutches of the evil bullies they once were, and had made peace with their demons from the past. The girls had finally realized that there are good people in the world that care, and that showing a little compassion and trust can go a long way.

Most of all, the girls have achieved something that they have always dreamed of having since they were little girls; acceptance. The girls have finally found friends in the kids of the cul-de-sac, and knew that they had planted the seed to begin building peaceful relationships with them. Most of all, all three girls have finally gained the trust and affections of their beloved Ed's. All three girls have never felt as beautiful, important, or special as they did when they were in the arms of their boyfriends. The Kanker sisters had achieved what they had thought was impossible; relationships with great men who treated them with respect and made them feel special.

All was quiet at Double Dee's house as well. It was around 3:30 a.m. and Ed and Eddy had been passed out in the den for around a half hour after a long monster movie marathon. Eddy was currently lying on the couch, with one of his arms hanging over the side, while Ed slept on the floor with his hand in a bowl of popcorn.

Double Dee spent a few minutes analyzing the situations he and his friends were faced with tonight. In what seemed like a bizarre twist of fate, he had learned the true reasons behind the Kanker sisters deviant behavior, and realized that he was wrong to write them off as girls filled with pure hatred and evil. His trust and relationship with Marie has allowed him to flourish and become a better person. Even Eddy's sabotage was a blessing, as it had allowed Eddy a chance to reflect on his own insecurities and become a better person for himself. In addition, the shenanigans had given May a reason to break the ice with Ed, and paved the way for their eventual romantic relationship. The process of reuniting Double Dee and Marie also had brought Lee and Eddy together on a more subtle level. Spending so much time together trying to mend their best friend and sister's relationship had allowed them to realize that they were really not as different from each other as they had thought.

Double Dee closed his eyes and began drifting off to sleep a happy man. He had no idea what fate had in store for him, his best friends, and their beautiful girlfriends in the future; all's he knew was that all along, the Kanker sisters were nothing more than bad girls with big hearts.

**The End**

_To all of my readers,_

_I would just like to say that I had an absolute BLAST writing this story. This is my first time writing anything other than an essay or an assignment for school and I am extremely humbled by the overwhelming support that I have received from the readers._

_All credit goes to Mr. Danny Antonucci, without whom none of this would be possible. Ed, Edd, n Eddy has truely impacted my childhood in a positive way, and I have to thank Mr. Antonucci from the bottom of my heart for producing that classic piece of animation. _

_And last but certainly not least, I have to thank ALL of my readers for their time reading and reviewing this story. Without your positive reassurance and helpful constructive critiscm, this story would have been nothing. Thank you all for sticking by me, your positive and helpful words were most appreciated._

_That being said, I know that I have promised a sequel to this story. There are many factors affecting my decision of whether or not to write a sequel, but I can say that if it will be written, it will not be released until next summer. I am a college student and I will be returning to classes in the fall, thus my schooling will have to come first. I will still be brainstorming though, and I hope if and when I do publish, all of you will read the new material._

_Until then, time for me to sit back and congratulate myself with some buttered toast and gravy! _

_Peace out,_

_KiltedEngineer_

_Wait! I do have one final question for you readers. Are any of you skilled at art like Marie and want to assist in a little endeavor? I have always wanted to publish art related to this story in the style of Danny Antonucci. The art would be of the characters as well as key scenes within the story, made to look like it was taken out of the show. While I have started this task, I am afraid that I simply lack the time to finish it. Therefore, I was wondering if any skilled fans would be willing to do some Antonucci style art of this story. If you wish to help, simply PM me and let me know._

_Thanks!_


	67. Chapter 67

**Epilogue**

_Hello everyone, it has been a while hasn't it? I hope all of my readers are doing well. Anyway, today is Valentines Day, and while those of you are relaxing with that "oh so special someone," as Double Dee puts it, I thought you'd enjoy reading an epilogue to "Bad Girls with Big Hearts". I hope you enjoy it, it's short and sweet and to the point!_

Four months had passed since that faithful night at Double Dees house. It was now late June, a time all too familiar to the kids on the cul-de-sac. The brisk, bone-chilling winter air had left Peach Creek, with warm humid air taking it's place. The birds had returned, singing their beautiful summer morning songs as the denizens of the town arose out of bed to begin their day.

School had already ended for the students of Peach Creek, and nobody was as excited to start their summer as Ed, Edd, and Eddy. The boys had spent the last few summers concocting various schemes; the intent being to loot the other children of their money, which they would use to buy their coveted jawbreakers. The Ed's would once again be able to enjoy the warmth of summer, in addition to the sweet, delicious flavor of their beloved treats. However, this summer would be different, as they would be enjoying it with three very special girls.

In the months since Eddy's party, Rod had become a fire fighter, married Tabby, and moved her and the girls into the vacant house on the end of the cul-de-sac, directly across from Double Dees house. Due to living directly across the street from her boyfriend, it became a common ritual for Marie to gaze out across the street to Double Dee just before bed, blowing kisses and whispering good night. Although the family now lived in their own house, they still kept their old trailer in the driveway, as they were planning on using it as a camper for their annual trip to the beach in July.

The girls themselves had changed drastically since February. Their clothes were no longer thrift store bought, and as with any ordinary teenage girl, their closets were filled with as many shoes as they could get their hands on. The house that the girls moved into was equipped with three bedrooms; Rod and Tabby took one, which left two to be divided up between the girls. Of course, after some "persuasion" from Lee, it was decided that she get her own room, while her two little sisters shared the last one.

Lee no longer needed her hair extensions that she had worn at Eddy's party, as her natural red locks had returned. Her curls dangled well below her shoulders, no longer frizzy and untamed. She began wearing makeup on a regular basis, accentuating her eyes with mauve eye shadow, making her appear remarkably similar to Marie. Lee had begun healing from the trauma she had endured as a child on her own, and she was looking forward to the retreat that she was due to go on in around two weeks. As she healed her past, she looked towards her future, and began caring about her schooling once again. After Eddy's party, the flood of phone calls to Tabby from the school for Lees misbehavior ceased, as Lee had shaped up and began using the natural intelligence that she was blessed with. She graduated 8th grade salutatorian, second only to Double Dee who was of course valedictorian. Due Lee's tall figure, long beautiful hair, and pretty face, she had attracted the attention of a modeling agency, and managed to have her picture placed in a few teenage girls magazines, modeling various Styles of clothes. This of course allowed Eddy to boast, saying not only was he dating a "hot babe," but also a model.

May's braces had begun to do their job but it would be much longer until her overbite was completely corrected. May had joined Peach Creek Junior High's girls softball team just in time for spring training. The coach was reluctant to let her start, due to never seeing her play before. However, her attitude changed as soon as she witnessed May strike out three of her best batters in a row. Needless to say, she had gotten a spot as starting pitcher for the team, and rival schools soon learned to fear the name Annamae Lonergan. May had made friends with the girls on her team, and managed to lead them to the state championships. Of course, May would find time to relax with her Big Ed, who had become the mascot for the team. He would proudly cheer his "Little May" on from the sidelines while entertaining the crowd as the loveable oaf he was. It was quite common that in between innings, May would pull her boyfriend behind the bleachers for a secret kiss.

And finally, we come to Marie. Marie had not changed much in looks since Eddy's party. She had wanted to try a new hairstyle to rid herself lf the sideswept bangs she had worn for years, but decided to keep them due to not having any other way to mask her exotropia affected eye. Neverthless the hair style did irritate her slightly, as one of Double Dee's little cousins mentioned that "she looked just like Mavis from Hotel Transylvania" at a family function they attended; Marie decided to laugh it off. Marie spends her free time in her room drawing, when she is not with Double Dee of course. Her portraits no longer carry any negative connotations. The monotone colors that we're present in her sketchbook were gone replaced with vibrant life like works. She would often sit in her window, sketching the birds on the trees and the distant landscape. Marie would spend her nights in her den, which was filled with Rods fire fighter memorabilia, in addition to all of her grandfathers fishing heirlooms, cuddling with Double Dee on the couch while eating popcorn and watching movies. The couple was just as happy as they were four months ago, when they first declared their love to each other on the balcony of her grandfathers house.

No one knows exactly what the future has in store for the Eds and the Kankers, but to quote Eddy, one thing is certain, "This is gonna be one happening summer!"

_I hope you enjoyed that little diddy. Believe it or not, as I wrote this, I started having severe nostalgia, flashing back to those summer nights, writing away and producing chapters of this story non stop till 4 a.m. every night...yeah, it was crazy, but I sure had fun with it. Anyway, I am also going to use this opportunity to say that there is not going to be a sequel to Bad Girls with Big Hearts. I do not have the spark for writing anymore, and I'm more of a mathematitician anyway, although I do enjoy a good story now and then. I am currently focusing on school and other projects. I will still float around the site and review and read, but don't expect any more writing any time soon. But rest assured, this is not the only surprise you will be getting from me..._

_So with that, I hope you enjoyed this as much as I have. Thanks for reading, reviewing and being great fans. It has been my pleasure to contribute to the Ed Eddn Eddy fanbase. Long Live The 90s!_

_Happy Valentines Day,_

_KiltedEngineer_

_p.s._

_If anybody is interested, I've finally been in the mood to do some fan art for Bad Girls with Big Hearts. I have completed one rough sketch so far and more detailed work is on the way. Here is the link._

photos/wackypiper1/8481624020/in/photostream

Hope you enjoy!


	68. Regards

**To all of you great readers,**

This is no update to the story, but merely an update on myself, and the state of any of my future writing.

I am writing this as somewhat of a farewell. It pains me to do so but I must. I think that it is time that I move on in a different direction with my life. I have accomplished a goal of mine, to write a fanfiction for EEnE, my favorite show as a child, and I am happy with the result. I am sorry, I know I have been off and on with a sequel to the story, but I am telling you right now it is not going to happen. I will be writing no more (except lab reports for school)

I guess you could say I am retiring from the fanfiction community as a whole, its time for me to focus on my future career, schooling and my music, in addition to finally starting to date again to find my special someone. Its finally time for me to grow up and start preparing for my serious adult life. Dont get me wrong, I will always love cartoons and video games, and never ever give them up, but right now, there are many more important things for me to worry about in my life.

With that being said, I will no longer maintain a deviant art account, or flickr account. I will retain my fanfiction account for the sole purpose of keeping Bad Girls with Big Hearts on the net. I will be doing no more reading of fanfiction, or offering critisicm UNLESS asked directly in private message. Even so, I will most likely not frequent fanfiction as often as I have been, so dont be alarmed if I do not respond to you. Most of my activity will be on youtube from now on!

I am so sorry for the abrupt change in plans, but this is the way that it has to be. I can feel that this is really what I should do. My career, my friends and maybe my future wife are calling, and its time for me to get out from behind this computer and go explore the world! I hope you all can understand that! Maybe someday I will return...

I love all of you! You have been great fans, and a huge inspiration to write. I would like to give a very special thanks to therealshackleford1, blackrose98, and badberry123 for being there and always reviewing since it was Ed Edd n Eddys Valentine Day Spectaculr. Also on the list are OFIXD, Ingreidor, and Shadows Rose...you came a little later, but your reviews still helped a whole lot with my writing!

Anyway, it's 3 am here, and Im about to head to bed to wake up to a brand new rejuvinated KiltedEngineer tommorow morning. Thank you for everything and may you acheive ultimate happiness and all of the goals you set for yourself in life.

Until we meet again, friends,

Kilted

Dont think Id leave you empty handed! Here is an unfinished chapter of the story that I took out of the original, hoping to someday complete it. Sadly, that wont happen. It is the original, alternate chapter 13 that forshadows future events. If any of you want to finish the chapter, you have all of my permission!

Here goes!

Deleted Chapter

Chapter 13

It was Sunday morning, and a beautiful day. Although it was the middle of February, the temperature peaked at 70 degrees, unusual for the season, but that didn't bother any of the children of the cul-de-sac. Double Dee had no chores this morning and was able to join his friends earlier than usual. In contrast, Marie had to do the weeks wash as well as other chores around the trailer, so Double Dee was slightly disappointed that he couldn't see his blue-haired beauty. Nevertheless, the warm weather coupled with the outstanding time he had with Marie last night made him feel like he could take on the world. As he walked out of his house into the comfortable air, he couldn't help but think of the words that Marie had written on the bottom of the canvas. He began to feel as if he should return those words back to her. Could he actually be in love?

The rest of the children were in the center of the cul-de-sac. There were two skate boards and a makeshift quarter pipe made out of wood. Kevin was riding one of the skateboards, while Nazz watched him. Kevin was quite the avid skateboarder, performing kick flips and shove it's without any problem. The other kids were not as talented; Rolf had already flipped off of the other skateboard, scraping his arm, Ed couldn't figure out how to ride it, and as for Eddy, he was becoming frustrated trying to Ollie.

"How are you supposed to get this thing off the ground without grabbing it!" yelled Eddy, while jumping in the air, only for the board to remain on the ground.

"Rolf fails to understand how the magic rolling board works as well." said Rolf. "Perhaps the Double Dee Ed boy can find the solution."

"Dude!" yelled Kevin, as he ride down the half pipe and skid stopped over by where Eddy and Rolf were standing. "It's easy." Kevin kicked the edge of his board to make it flip up into his hand.

"Here's what you do." Kevin set his board down. "You jump at the same time as you kick your right foot down. Then when the board comes up, you just slide your front foot forward, and the board will level out. Watch me."

Kevin successfully performed the trick. Nazz clapped for him as she sat on the curb.

"Now you try Eddy." He said.

Eddy began stepping onto the skateboard just as Double Dee stepped into the street from his house to walk down to the center of the cul-de-sac. Eddy stood still for a few seconds, then moved his foot to the back of the board. After a slight hesitation, Eddy jumped and kicked the board down. The board successfully angled upward, albeit too far. His left leg slipped off of the board, causing it to assume a near vertical orientation. The force of gravity began forcing Eddy back to earth, but not before landing right on the edge of the skateboard that was sticking up in the air. The incident eventually ended with Eddy laying on the ground, holding his groin in pain while the rest of the boys began laughing.

"My goodness Eddy are you alright!" yelled Double Dee as he ran up to Eddy.

The rest of the boys continued laughing.

"I see that it is now acceptable to laugh at your friends pain and anguish?" said Double Dee.

The boys continued laughing. Double Dee had seen the incident from when he was walking down the street and had thought it was quite funny, even though Eddy could have been injured. He couldn't help but bust out laughing with all of the rest of the boys.

"All of you shut up!" yelled Eddy as he got up off of the ground. "It's this stupid boards fault! Double Dee, make with the science and show me how to do this!"

Double Dee observed Kevin performing his tricks for a few minutes and came up with a solution.

"Well Eddy, to fight the force of gravity, you simply need to use Newton's third law of motion. By applying a downward force to the tail of the skateboard, you create an equal, but opposite force in the vertical direction, causing the board to accelerate upward." Said Double Dee

"Right." said Eddy sarcastically, as he stepped onto the board to try again. The result was the same as last time, except Eddy actually landed on the board. However, he lost his balance and fell off of the board. The board slid out from under his feet and flew into Mr. Jenkins' yard, located between Ed and Eddy's house on the cul-de-sac. The board flew air bourn over the grass and eventually collided into the basement window of the house causing a loud shattering noise.

"RUN!" yelled Eddy and the rest of the boys. All of the boys including Nazz ran as fast as they could out of the middle of the cul-de-sac, retreating to the safty their homes in an attempt to avoid blame for their wrong doings.

The kids spent around 20 minutes indoors, after which they finally regained the confidence to step back outside. The boys spent a few minutes in the lane trying to decide how they were going to spend the rest of the afternoon. It didn't take long for the topic of sports to come up, much to Double Dees dismay. After a few minutes, a heated yet friendly competitive argument arose between Eddy and Kevin. Eddy had challenged Kevin's athletic prowess, stating that he could hit a home run much further than Kevin could. Kevin of course accepted the challenge, being that he saw himself as the best athlete in Peach Creek. In addition, Eddy's obsession with money once again reared it's ugly head, as he decided to put a wager of 20 dollars on the contest. The boys parted and headed for their respective homes to prepare for the game.

The time was now 4:30 p.m. and the winter late afternoon sun was already rather low in the sky. Double Dee and his friends were currently at Eddy's house, digging through his garage in an attempt to find his brothers old baseball equipment. As Eddy searched his storage space for the equipment, Double Dee was attempting to give Eddy a lecture on morality.

"Eddy, you really should go apologize to Mr. Jenkins and pay for the damage you have caused." said Double Dee.

"Pay?" said Eddy, "In your dreams sockhead. Besides, what he doesn't know what hurt him." said Eddy while grinning."

Double Dee knew that arguing with Eddy would be a waste of time. He simply sighed and shook his head.

"Besides," said Eddy, "I've got 20 bucks to win!"

After a few minutes of rummaging, Eddy finally found what he was looking for. Nestled up in the rafters was a large green duffle bag. It was covered in layers of dust, and appeared to have been sitting there for months, if not years.

"Bingo!" yelled Eddy "Hey lumpy give me a boost."

"Sure thing Eddy!" said Ed as he gladly ran over towards his friend. He lifted Eddy up towards the ceiling to allow him to retrieve the bag.

"Let's see what we got in here!" said Eddy with a grin on his face. He unzipped the bag rather quickly and turned it upside down to quickly empty its contents onto the garage floor.

"Jackpot!" yelled Eddy.

On the floor were four gloves, two left handed mitts and one right handed mitt that looked relatively new. The remaining glove was also left-handed, but appeared as if it had been on a trip down the creek. It was filled with mold and was emitting a foul stench . It also lacked inner padding, which had most likely been worn down from continuous use. Ed walked over to the glove and picked it up off of the floor.

"Cool!" yelled Ed as he slipped the glove onto his hand. "This smells just like my room!"

Ed held the glove up to Double Dees face.

"Try it Double Dee!" yelled Ed

Double Dee's nose absorbed the foul stench of the glove, at which point he winced away.

"Thank you for your generous offer Ed." said Double Dee. He struggled to control his gag reflex as he reached down to grab the right handed glove off of the floor.

"But seeing as I am left-handed, I believe this one would suit me best!" said Double Dee

Ed picked up a catcher's mask and placed it over his face. He proceeded to grab a wooden bat off of the floor which he began swinging wildly.

"Take me to your leader rat mutants!" yelled Ed as if he was acting out a fantasy. Ed's careless swinging eventually caused the bat to impact the door of Eddy's garage, putting a rather noticeable dent in it.. Ed stopped in his tracks and stared at the damage.

"Ooops," said Ed dopily

"Hey slugger, save some energy for the field will ya!" yelled Eddy as he picked up a bat of his own.

Ed continued running around, making noises that sounded very similar to the light sabers from the Star Wars saga. Double Dee couldn't help but chuckle at Ed's bizarre behavior. A few seconds had passed, at which point the distinct sound of an activated power tool filled the air. Double Dee, startled by the sound, turned around to see the bat Eddy had taken from the bag locked into a vice grip. He was attempting to drill a bore through the bat using his father's power drill.

"Eddy, what in lord's name are you doing!" Double Dee yelled at the top of his lungs.

Eddy shut down the drill and turned towards his friend.

"Giving myself some reassurance." said Eddy as he grinned

"And just what do you mean by that?" asked Double Dee, "Do you realize that by creating a cavity within that bat, you are compromising the objects structural integrity?"

"Relax sock head," replied Eddy. "I'm not going to leave it empty. I'm corking the bat so that I can hit to my full potential."

Eddy snickered as he continued drilling.

"Your full potential?" asked Double Dee sarcastically, "Eddy that's cheating! Even I know that, and I generally have no comprehension of the subject of team sports!" replied Double Dee.

Eddy ignored Double Dee's words and continued inspecting the bat.

"Very well Eddy," said Double Dee, "If you wish to go about performing this charade be my guest, but I must caution you not to bore too far into the bat, as doing so will greatly reduce the objects stress tolerance, causing the material to shatter upon collision with the ball."

"Hey," yelled Eddy, "I know what I'm doing! And I got some pretty good dinero riding on this thing, so I can't afford to screw up!"

Double Dee sighed.

"Whatever you say Eddy," said Double Dee as he took a seat on an empty cooler.

It didn't take long for Eddy to finish filling the bat. He was sure to paint the top of it, so that his illegal cork would go undetected. After he was certain that his work was complete, he gathered all of his gear and placed it back into the green duffle bag.

"Alright boys," yelled Eddy as he lifted the bag over his shoulder, "It's show time. Let's andale!"

The boys departed from Eddy's garage, on their way to the local baseball field as Eddy boasted of the inevitable victory that he would celebrate. The boys conversed happily until they reached the entrance gates to the ball field, at which point they stopped in their tracks.

The baseball diamond was occupied by three quite unwelcome guests. The Kanker sisters had beaten the Ed's to the field, and were using it for a ball game of their own. On the pitcher's mound stood Lee, wearing her usual attire. Her typical unmanageable ginger curls were covered by a white baseball cap, although her eyes and ears were still covered by the locks. She was holding what appeared to be a worn down softball in her right hand; her left hand was covered by an old leather baseball glove.

Marie Kanker stood at home plate, poised in batting stance while waiting for Lee to pitch the ball. She was wearing a black sweater, in addition to a pair of extremely mud stained blue jeans and black sneakers. She test swung the bat several times while staring intently at her older sister.

Lastly, May Kanker was positioned behind Marie. She was crouched down in a catchers stance with her mitt positioned to receive Lee's pitch. May was without a doubt the sister who was best dressed for the occasion. Her blonde hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, in contrast to draping over her shoulders as it usually did. She was wearing a sports jersey, which was colored white along the front and back of the shirt, and sky blue on the sides. On the front of the shirt was a logo that read, "FSA Lady Dragons", along with a number, 12. On the back of the jersey, a larger version of the number 12 was printed directly in the center, underneath the word "LONERGAN", formed in an arch across May's shoulder blades. She wore shorts that matched the exact color of the jersey, in addition to her usual yellow knee high socks. Lastly, her feet were covered by a pair of black cleats.

Of course, unbeknowest to Ed and Eddy, the sight of Marie was quite a welcome one to Double Dee. He watched as Marie held her baseball bat in her hand, preparing for Lee's pitch, her blue hair flowing in the wind. Double Dee was quite captivated by his beautiful girlfriend, so much so that he almost lost track of time. He knew he'd have to react to the Kanker sisters prescience in a manner in which his friends were accustomed in order to keep wh and Marie's secret under wrap. He attempted to control his emotions the best he could.

"Oh dear," said Double Dee being sure to sound as nervous as possible, "It seems that the Kanker sisters have beaten us to the proverbial punch."

"Forget that!" yelled Eddy, "This is our field!"

Eddy began marching furiously towards the pitcher's mound, intending to give Lee a piece of his mind. Although Double Dee was for the most part acting nervous to mask he and Marie's relationship, and although he felt comfortable around Marie, he was still deeply afraid of her sisters and knew that trouble would soon be brewing between his friends and Marie's sisters.

"Eddy!" said Double Dee audibly, yet soft enough as to not alert the girls, "You're misguided attempts to reason with the Kanker sisters are sure to end in utter failure! I strongly suggest that we postpone your settlement with Kevin to a later date!"

Eddy ignored Double Dee's pleas and continued making his way across the grass towards Lee's position. Lee was currently holding the softball out in front of her, preparing to pitch it to Marie.

"Alright May, I think I got it down!" yelled Lee, "Let's see if your wimpy arms can take this one coming at ya, Marie!"

"Ah shut yer trap Lee!" yelled Marie, "This one's comin' right at your face!"

Eddy was absolutely infuriated that his day had once again been corrupted by the presence of the Kanker sisters. He came within 15 feet of Lee, at which point his uproarious voice filled the air.

"HEY KANKERS!" yelled Eddy with his face full of rage. All three sisters ceased their activities and turned their attention to Eddy.

"Oooh look Lee, it's your man!" said May

Lee walked over toward the enraged Eddy with a smirk on her face. She reached his position and leaned down into his face.

"What brings you here half pint" said Lee after which she snickered and flicked his head with her finger. Lee stood erect once more, and chuckled with her two sisters who had joined her side.

"This is our field!" yelled Eddy, "Go crawl back to your stinkin' trailer park and play there!"

"_Our_ field?" asked Lee quietly as she observed her surroundings. After a quick scan of the field, she took sight of Double Dee and Ed, who had remained standing at the entrance gates. Double Dee glanced into Lee's eyes with an air of utter nervousness, as Ed remained indifferent to the situation, staring into the distance with a smile.

"Well, well well," said Lee as she glanced to her sisters while pointing to the boys, "Would ya look at that your boyfriends decided to show up too!"

At the sound of Lee's words, Marie quickly picked her head up and scanned the field. Sure enough Lee's words were true. Ed was standing around 20 feet behind Eddy, with a fearful expression on his face Double Dee. More importantly, next to Ed stood her boyfriend Double Dee. Marie blushed slightly as the couples eyes made contact, as did Double Dee. She managed to produce a slight but noticeable smile, and began twirling her hair. Double Dee smiled back, and although both boy and girl wanted to do nothing more than run to each other for a hug, they knew what they had to do. They were going to have to play along to please both parties.

Marie quickly broke out of her love struck trance and decided to play along.

"Yeah," said Marie, "And it looks like our manly men wanna play some ball!"

The three girls laughed, at which point Eddy's anger got the best of him.

"Why don't you Kankers get lost!" yelled Eddy, "I got some serious money to win on this field in a few minutes, and I can't have ya screwin' it all up for me!"

"Is that so?" asked Lee. The red headed Kanker sister pondered Eddy's words for a few seconds. She glanced at her youngest sister, May, after which she turned towards Eddy and snickered.

"Alright shrimp," said Lee, "You can have the field, on one simple condition."

"Oh yeah, what?" barked Eddy.

"All's ya need to do is hit one of May's pitches." said Lee as she grinned.

Marie and May's faces were filled with smiles, as they chuckled under their breath.

"Ha!" yelled Eddy, "Bring it on Kankers!"

Eddy picked up his bat and began walking towards home plate. Double Dee decided to try to reason with Eddy once again, as he knew that he was just asking for trouble.

"Eddy," said Double Dee anxiously, "Please reconsider your decision! There is no guarantee that the Kankers will hold up their end of the agreement, and this endeavor could possibly lead to a situation that played out similarly to the incident Monday morning!"

"Relax Sock Head," said Eddy, "We got legs, we'll just haul ass if that happens. Besides, I can hit a pitch from a sissy girl no problem!"

Eddy took his place in the batters box, test swinging his recently corked bat with an air of confidence. Lee walked over to May and placed the softball in her right hand.

"Sink em' May!" yelled Lee, at which point May grinned and chuckled under her breath.

Lee walked over towards home plate and assumed the catchers position, kneeling down behind Eddy with her glove in front of her chest.

"Alright let's get this over with!" yelled Lee, "May gets three pitches. If ya hit any of them, ya get the field. If ya don't, you and your boys walk. Sound like a deal little man!"

"Deal!" yelled Eddy abruptly as he gripped the bat tightly.

"Alright May, give him some heat!" yelled Lee.

Eddy stood in the batters box grinning as May took her position at the pitcher's mound. May clutched the ball in her hand for a few seconds, after which she swung her arm back rather lazily. She then sloppily swung her arm forward and released the ball, tossing it into the air. The ball rose to a height of around ten feet into the air, and eventually came to a rest on the ground directly behind Eddy. The ball had landed far outside the strike zone, and had not even passed home plate.

May's apparent lackluster athletic skills had done nothing but boost Eddy's confidence. He grinned as he stared at the youngest Kanker sister.

"Forget your glasses at home?" said Eddy after which he laughed, "This field is ours!"

Lee growled from behind home plate, after which she raised her voice and yelled at her sister.

"Stop screwin' around Bucky!" yelled Lee, "We ain't got all day, let's get these punks outta here so we can play some ball!"

"Alright jeez Lee!" yelled May in her nasally voice, "I was just tryin to have a little fun!"

May regained her composure and retook her place on the pitchers mound. She spent a few seconds gazing toward home plate, justifying her aim. In the moments that followed, May leaned forward slightly while drawing her right arm behind her back. She stepped forward with her left foot rather aggressively as hre right arm began to swing downward past her hips. As she planted her left foot on the ground, her arm had finally passed over her head. After a quick descent, May released the ball as her arm passed her hips for the second time. She had performed a maneuver commonly known as a windmill pitch in fast pitch softball.

Eddy's confident expression disappeared and was replaced with that of fear. The softball that May had been holding was traveling towards him at around 60 mph.

"OH SHIT!" yelled Eddy as he jumped backwards. The balls high speed had caused Eddy to believe that it would hit him; on the contrary the ball managed to pass directly over home plate, awarding Eddy his first strike.

Lee snickered.

"What's the matter Eddy?" said Lee in a babyish tone of voice, "Afraid of a pitch from a 'sissy girl'?"

Lee laughed maniacally as Eddy hit his bat against the ground softly.

"I ain't afraid of nothing!" yelled Eddy as he retook his position at home plate.

"Suit yourself!" yelled Lee as she kneeled down waiting for May's second pitch.

As Eddy prepared himself for May's second pitch, his ears were drawn to the sound of a familiar laugh. Eddy turned towards the entrance gates to see Kevin and Rolf standing at the edge of the baseball diamond, holding equipment of their own. Kevin had seen Eddy's fear of May's pitch and decided to poke fun at his short stubby friend.

"Yo dorky!" yelled Kevin, "What happened, can't handle the heat from a girl!"

Kevin laughed at Eddy's expense as he groaned under his breath.

"Yeah right!" yelled Eddy, "I'm gonna hit this one out of the park, and then I'm gonna take your twenty bucks right out of your hands!"

"Ooooh" said Kevin as he grinned, "I'll tell ya what, screw our contest. I'll put the 20 dollars on you being able to hit one of her pitches. How's that strike ya!"

"Deal!" yelled Eddy as he gripped the bat

As Eddy continued his attempt to triumph over the Kanker sisters, Double Dee had taken a seat on the metal bleachers, watching the events unfold. Eddy had not been aware that May had somehow acquired the ability to perform fast pitches, causing him to be completely outmatched. Double Dee could only hope for the best, as even if Eddy did manage to hit one of May's pitches, there was no guarantee that they would escape from the field unscathed.

While Double Dee was preoccupied with his thoughts, May had thrown her second pitch, which Eddy had attempted to swing at. Of course, Eddy had missed the ball, earning him his second strike.

"Ha!" yelled Lee, "One strike left, and you and your boys are outta here!"

Lee laughed as Eddy groaned.

"Just pitch it!" said Eddy in an angry tone, as he took his batting stance once again.

May chuckled.

"Sure thing!" said May.

At that moment, May once again took her pitchers stance as she eyed home plate, justifying her aim. Eddy stared into Mays eyes with an expression of frustration as she began her wind up. In a few short moments, the ball was once again careening toward Eddy, traveling at high velocity. Eddy eyed the ball as best as he could, and took his third and final swing just as the ball passed over home plate.

Eddy had closed his eyes, and was surprised when he felt a counter force on the bat instead of thin air. As the bat made contact with the ball, there was a loud crack. The force imposed on the poorly corked bat was enough to cause it to crack in half; one of the pieces remained in Eddy's hands, while the other flew through the air, coming to a rest around 10 feet from home plate.

Well thats all folks, I hope you enjoyed! Maybe someday Ill return, but for now its time for me to see the world!

Thank you all,

KiltedEngineer


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